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It has been\u00a0predicted\u00a0that the number of mobile connected devices will exceed the number of humans on Earth. The proof is in the data and yet the majority of established companies have been slow to adopt the responsive website design changes that provide the best web experience for their users, regardless of device.<\/p>\n
For a website housing thousands of pages, a redesign of that nature is an incredibly overwhelming task if your goal is just to have a prettier website. But, we have learned first hand that a responsive redesign isn\u2019t just about making your website look sleeker. A responsively designed website creates a far better performing site with increased traffic and ad revenue that will naturally adapt to the changing consumer landscape.<\/p>\n
Responsive website design may have the word \u201cdesign\u201d in the title but, choosing fonts, looking at\u00a0color charts, and sifting through stock photos are such a small part of the process. The goals of a truly mobile optimized redesign are increased speed and functionality across devices. Mobile users have come to expect a more streamlined experience than when they are browsing at home on their desktop.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also not as simple as taking the existing site and reorganizing it to make it fit within mobile constraints. Implementing responsive website design is a more technical and strategic than that; it\u2019s essentially rebuilding and recoding an entire site with the idea of creating a new user experience. And, doesn\u2019t that make sense? A user should have a completely different experience on their desktop than on their smartphone, and even tablet, because they are most likely engaging with your site differently on each device. It\u2019s up to you to target and cater to their unique behaviors, capabilities and limitations across all screens.<\/p>\n
So, if you are considering a responsive website redesign, there are a few key things to consider that we hadn\u2019t fully fleshed out until we were already in the trenches: layout, page performance and mobile ad management.<\/p>\n
Often the first step in building a responsive site is to choose a layout or grid system. If your website contains ads, it\u2019s important to choose a layout that supports all standard ad units in order to maintain valuable mobile ad space. We found that most open source grids predominantly accommodated a basic site structure with navigation most suitable for blogs. But, just because there aren\u2019t any ready-to-go templates for a larger more complex, ad supported site doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t go mobile in a responsive way.<\/p>\n
We ended up implementing a sizable amount of customization to the layout in order to provide a comparable experience to our desktop version. \u00a0And given the reduction in screen space, it makes sense that the number of ads also needs to be reduced.<\/p>\n
In fact, the whole layout website redesign process also encouraged us to take a closer look at our existing website architecture. Driving us to be more efficient, we found a way to improve and organize site architecture across all properties.<\/p>\n
As we know, mobile users are always in a hurry; even if they\u2019re just casually browsing, they don\u2019t have time or patience to wait for pages to load. As such, it\u2019s important to analyze the actual performance of individual web pages. The easiest way to do this is to set-up a third party monitoring system. The tool sits on top of your web application to monitor every request and provides a code-level diagnostic that relays information like how long it took for the user to load the page and what processes are taking the most time, both internally and externally. It makes it much easier to identify and correct pain points down to the individual page or a specific server or service.<\/p>\n
Creating a faster performing adaptive site is going to generate a more positive user experience for today and tomorrow\u2019s fluid online environment. We saw an increase in traffic, a 25 percent decrease in bounce rate, and our page views per visit grew 15 percent as a result of users being able to easily interact across all devices. Additionally, the redesign allowed for the opportunity to implement a more modern look and feel, which helps boost site aesthetics and credibility.<\/p>\n
And while those are all positive results, they didn\u2019t happen overnight. The best advice for any company looking at a responsive overhaul is to expect to iterate. Tweak and watch. It\u2019s common for many established companies to look at a big undertaking and attempt to attack every element simultaneously and reveal one finished product. But, for a large website with many moving parts, responsive website design just doesn\u2019t work like that. It\u2019s important to start small and test, change, test\u2026 to make sure your users are positively reacting to the experience being presented.<\/p>\n
Responsive website design isn\u2019t focused on the latest HTML trick or the best use of imagery. It\u2019s meant to anticipate users\u2019 behaviours on smart phones and tablets, away from a desktop, and ask, \u201cHow would consumers use our website on the go? How can we maintain traffic and ad revenue across devices?\u201d It\u2019s a delicate balance between providing enough functionality, while maintaining a streamlined look and feel, and taking the needed time for testing will help you strike it.<\/p>\n
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It has been\u00a0predicted\u00a0that the number of mobile connected devices will exceed the number of humans on Earth. The proof is in the data and yet the majority of established companies have been slow to adopt the responsive website design changes that provide the best web experience for their users, regardless of device. For a website … Continue reading RESPONSIVE WEBSITE DESIGN \u2013 RWD<\/span>