Responsive design is one of the biggest trends to emerge in web design. However, this is a much more to it than what the surface reveals. Consider 15 of the best practices for responsible responsive design.
1. Horizontal Swipe
You can easily let text overflow onto the edge of the screen. Doing so guides readers into the next thought without missing it or assuming it’s not there at all.
2. Make Buttons Visible & Clickable
Instead of making buttons smaller on mobile devices, increase their size to make it easier to tap on. This strategy can be used on larger devices such as desktops and tablets.
3. Balance Font Sizes
Resizing your fonts and headers appropriately is critical for responsive design. Large headers and text do not look good on smaller devices. Balancing them out is the key to crisp design.
4. The Right Reading Widths
An optimum line length stays around 60-75 characters. This ensures that the rhythm of text isn’t broken up unnecessarily and that the text doesn’t stay crammed on top of each other. Readers can easily scan your content when you use the right widths.
5. Place Important Information at the Top
Content such as your phone number, contact information, and call to action should be placed at the top of the page for premium results.
6. Change the Order of Content Blocks
Show the most important information on small screens, then place the less important information into the background. Content blocks help organize content and make it more digestible for visitors.
7. Make Room by Hiding Content
For mobile devices, you can make room for more information by hiding content in swipe able menu. This helps declutter the page and lets the user decide what information they want to view.
8. Make More Content Visible on Wider Screens
In contrast with mobile devices, wider screens offer more space to fill up with information. When viewed on wider screens, your website should provide a wide view of content without forcing people to swipe one way or another. People expect to have to swipe and scroll on mobile phones, but not so much on their desktop or tablet.
9. Use Portrait Mode for Tablets
By considering portrait mode when designing your website, you can then keep your page content proportionate and guarantee a smooth viewing experience for readers.
10. Eliminate Enlarged Image Windows
Mobile devices just don’t mesh with enlarge windows. They are frustrating and don’t work. Instead, use image galleries with a swipeable carousel or a long scrollable gallery to showcase your images.
11. Use Fewer—Quality Images
Pure HTML and CSS contributes to higher quality images and background gradients. With fewer images, your pages load more quickly, which is especially good for mobile devices.
12. Responsive Video
With just a few extra lines of css, you can guarantee your videos are responsive to mobile devices. This also ensures that your videos can be viewed easily and quickly without any loading problems along the way.
13. Put Content Below the Fold
Below the fold is now a real thing. Instead of squeezing everything up to the top of the page, try spacing things out and balancing them for an easier view.
14. Hide Navigation Menus
Navigation menus should be accessible only when people want them. With smaller layouts, it’s easier to hide navigation menus to keep everything clean and orderly. Opt for either a simple drop down menu or the overlay method.
15. Considering Touch Screens
Touch screens are designed for intuitive use. Things such as hover events and navigational aides are important to consider when designing websites for mobile devices.