How to do Responsive Web Design the Right Way

A functional, accessible, and stylish website is often the foundation for many Edmonton businesses. Despite your best efforts, you may find that your conversions for customers using mobile devices are lower than those using desktops. If so, it’s possible that your website is not using responsive website design – i.e., it may not scale down properly when viewed on smaller screens.

Best Practices for Responsive Website Design

Your website was not designed on a mobile device. While your bold navigation aids, easy to navigate menus, and clear calls-to-action may look fantastic on a desktop, it may become cluttered and confusing when squished down to a four-inch screen. Here are some tips to implement responsive website design for your Edmonton business.

1. Re-evaluate Your Images

While your images may look great on a large screen, you should check whether they scale down for mobile users and, if they do, whether the scaled-down version adds to the user experience. If the image occupies too much of the screen and makes finding information difficult, consider substituting for a less intrusive option.

2. Understand Your users & Simplify Navigation

Analyze your stats: are mobile users using the search function? How about your menu links? If not, your navigation may be difficult to operate. Remember: most mobile users are on-the-go and are looking to find information fast. If search is your most used function, emphasize it! If menu buttons are not being used, consider making them easier to find. When it comes to mobile websites, less is more. Simplified designs win over a cluttered mess every time.

3. Cut Out Desktop Optimized Popups and Overlays

Popups and overlays may look great on a desktop, but they can be intrusive and incredibly annoying for mobile users. Additionally, they can obscure vital information that your customers are searching for. If you are using overlays, ensure that facilitate the information finding process.

4. Cap Your Content

While everyone wants to write on at length on how great their business is, no one wants to read a giant block of text. Remember: simplify the experience. Self-edit your content and ensure that the information is concise, easy to find, and to the point. After all, you’re making a website, not writing a book!

5. Clear Call to Action

You can optimize your website perfectly and still miss conversions because your customers didn’t find a way to contact you quickly enough. We can’t stress this enough: include a call-to-action on every page and emphasize it with a button that is easy to see and gets the customer in contact with you.

If you have any questions on how to implement any of these responsive web design features in Edmonton, contact us at WSI today. (See what we did there?)

Lynne Motkoski, Digital Marketing Strategist

Specialty: Digital Marketing Strategies
Education: MA Communications & Technology, BComm [U Alberta]

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Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education, keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.