Dec 11,2012 Shopify API Ecommerce
Get the best from responsive web design
These days, having a fully optimised mobile channel is vital. That means responsive web design should be the only option—with this way of operating a user will get the same kind of experience across all devices without the need for separate sites to be created, with the design simply adapting to different screen dimensions for a responsive, user-friendly and fully-optimised result. Delivering a great user experience will always be the ultimate goal but it’ll take some time to ensure you’ve got things spot on, so here are a few tips to help you get the best from responsive web design to achieve the desired results:
Don’t hide your content. Content is still king no matter what screen size is being used, so don’t sacrifice great content in an attempt to save some space—instead, really consider what information is going to be useful and ensure you incorporate it into this new channel, planning your layout accordingly.
Plan your breakpoints. The breakpoint is the stage when media queries kick in to make changes to the layout based on screen size and dimensions, and you need to plan them carefully to ensure a great result. As a general rule, you’ll want to start by making things look good with the smallest screen then move up in size until the content becomes compromised, before making adjustments accordingly—and so on and so forth.
Don’t just offer the desktop layout. Trying to load a desktop site onto a mobile device will compromise speed and performance with load times simply taking too long, so although you don’t want to hide essential content you don’t want to include absolutely everything either—it’s a fine line but getting the balance is crucial to ensure a great user experience.
Give users options. It’s worth remembering that some users will prefer to stick to the desktop layout despite the differences in dimensions, so always give them the option of switching to ensure you’re keeping everyone happy.
These are just a few things you need to bear in mind if you want to make the most of responsive design to offer a great user experience, and if you do it well you can offer a flawless experience no matter what type of device is used.