Have you noticed the overwhelming trend toward responsive website design? The number of mobile devices is exploding as more people have access to handheld technology. Many no longer even need a computer as long as they have a smartphone in their hands. This trendline curving upward for mobile devices is predicted to continue at an even faster pace. How is your business going to handle this steady influx of mobile users? We want to look at 7 examples of beautiful and responsive website design. This can give us a good baseline to work with and ideas for the future of mobile design.
1. Flexbox
One of the first examples we thought of from the industry is Flexbox. Just like the name implies, this flexible box is perfect for adapting to any screen size. Mobile is here to stay which has created new challenges for how to display a site on a smaller screen.
Flexbox has support through all of the major browsers including Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and the latest versions of Android/iOS. That means it is perfect for displaying things both on your desktop at home or using your mobile smartphone. Some browsers will not be able to display Flexbox if the user has not updated in quite some time. A quick reminder with a message box can help solve this issue and you can also code the site to detect if the browser is using one of these antiquated versions.
Web designers will tell you that Flexbox requires plenty of practice to fully grasp everything it is capable of, but it is a much better solution compared to how mobile sites were designed in the past. The system works on two different axes. The main axis will demonstrate the direction of your blocks. This could be displayed in rows or columns depending on what kind of information you want to display. The cross axis runs perpendicular to the main axis to create 90-degree angles. These points of intersection tell the system when to move the blocks to fit the screen. If there is not enough room, the blocks will simply shift over and start to stack together. This makes it easy to view on desktop or mobile. What you want to display all fits in these small containers that are easy to stack and rearrange. Now that is a beautiful solution for mobile. Try it out today.
2. Bootstrap
Serving information to users on mobile has never been easier, but you need the right toolset. In the past, developers would make several different versions of the same site. You had one for desktop, another site for mobile, and then several more for other devices. Fortunately, we now have tools like Bootstrap. This comes with many features that are already premade for you. There is no need to code custom solutions for mobile since this toolkit already comes with so many options. Plugins are also included to create streamlined sites that will get more clicks.
One of the most popular choices for front-end, Bootstrap has been saving developers time for years now. If you have been looking for an elegant solution for your own mobile site, look at the tools that Bootstrap provides. It is popular which means you have plenty of tutorials in both video format and blog articles.
3. Flexible Images
One of the main concerns with any mobile site is how it will handle images. Will they become distorted and crushed when viewed on mobile? At first, developers would have many different versions of the same picture stored on the server. When a user would visit the site on mobile, they were served a different version, depending on the type of device that was detected. This was hardly an elegant solution though. Sites are always concerned with fast load times. By having multiple versions of the same image, it can bog down servers and have them load unneeded data.
Instead, we have more elegant solutions now. Take for example the image() function. CSS and JavaScript can be used to detect the viewport size that the user is currently using. Instead of showing the full image like you would on desktop, just crop the image so that mobile users see part of it. This avoids having multiple copies of the same image on your server since you are still using just one image. Mobile users will not notice the picture has been cropped as long as the work is done by professionals. Looking for a reliable New York website design company? Digital Silk is a team of professionals. Since they are a reliable New York website design company, they can help walk you through using the image() function to save server space.
4. SVG
Most marketers are wondering what are the best marketing companies right now. Design Rush is the perfect site for you to figure out what the best marketing companies are as well as designers. They will be using the latest techniques and also strategies for responsive website design. This includes SVG images.
One downside for SVG is that it won’t work for photos. If your site heavily focuses on photos that you have taken such as a real estate site, you will want to go with another format. For sites that use a lot of graphic design, SVG would be a good solution. This stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. Just like the name states, this solution can scale. That means no matter how the user views your site, the visuals will scale with their screen. There will be no stretched images that become confusing to the point where the user no longer can tell what they are looking at.
Vector graphics are designed in such a way that they can scale up or down as much as you would like and it will still look the same. Think of logos and icons where this would work well. Make sure you are using the latest technology in conjunction with the best marketing companies right now.
5. Media Queries
What are media queries? If you want a good example of a way to keep your site beautiful but still responsive, you need to understand media queries. Using this technique, you can have your layout adapt to the consumer. Build out different layouts and then use the one that will work best for the customer. Columns and rows all become like boxes or containers that you can easily move around. The screen size will determine how they are organized. If your visitor switches from portrait to landscape, this can also trigger a new layout. Your site will be unique and still remain responsive for your mobile users.
6. Responsive Text And Typography
Another aspect of your site that needs to be fluid will be your typography. Many assume that as the screen shrinks, your typography needs to also decrease in size so that it will fit on the screen. While this is true, you need to follow set guidelines to make sure users can still read what you have to say.
Apple has laid out guidelines for designers to follow as far as the pixel size for typography on mobile devices. It is important to seek out the best marketing companies right now that are going to target things like this for mobile users. On top of this, you as the site owner should understand what to look for when working with a designer. Then you can ask for changes and be knowledgeable about what limitations are placed on your site and typography.
7. CMS
Last of all, to put together a great-looking site that will also be responsive, use a trusted CMS. WordPress is one of the most popular choices and also open-source. You have a large number of plugins that you can choose from and the platform is always evolving. The team behind WordPress core really listens to the community. If it is decided that overall, the community will benefit from a big change, they are not afraid to adjust the core platform. While not everyone is always happy with changes made to the core, WordPress continues to impress us with innovative ways to put together sites for either desktop or mobile.
If you are looking for ways to make beautiful and also responsive designs, take a look at WordPress if you have not already done so. Since everything is open source, you can work with the system for as long as you would like. Plugins can be utilized so that your mobile customers will feel like they are getting a similar experience that you would see on desktop. If you need even more designs for mobile, feel free to download some of the paid plugins. These give you even more options and can really speed up your design time. An excellent system to work with if you are just getting started or you have years of experience.
Conclusion
Wrapping up here, we looked at many examples of how you can keep your site beautiful while it is optimized for mobile. There are many technology stacks and solutions out there if you are looking for a good way to attract more mobile customers. Make sure you are also using the best marketing companies and focusing on best practices with them for optimal results.