Developing Responsive Websites: Pitfalls to Look Out For

The world of technology is advancing at the speed of light. With every passing day, new devices are being introduced. The internet, which has changed almost every aspect of life, could earlier be availed only when you would sit in front of the desktop computer. However, the advancement in technology has changed the scenario significantly. New handheld gadgets have been introduced now, with which you can access the internet while on the go. This has driven majority of the websites to plan a responsive design – something, which can be viewed perfectly in devices of different sizes, on large desktop computers as well as on small mobile screens. This is where responsive designs become extremely relevant.

Although the concept of responsive web design is not extremely old, a large number of companies are already embracing it. These are helping them to reach out to many audiences, irrespective of the type of device they are using. However, still a number of mistakes are committed during the use of responsive web designs. You need to remain aware of these errors and perform accordingly to ensure that you are able to avoid these pitfalls. This will help you to design your website in the perfect way to ensure that it always responds in a proper manner, no matter what kind of device is being used to view it.

Developing Mobile Version Later

One of the major mistakes in developing a responsive website is usually done in the planning and the development stages. Many of the developers consider it easy to develop the site for the desktop first and then move on to mobile designing. However, this can be time consuming, as it involves a lot of rework. Moreover, it can also induce mistakes, as it is difficult to do away with parts of the design, all of which are essential. Hence, it is always advisable to start the work with the mobile. Once you are able to make the site for the mobile, it won’t be difficult to fit it for the larger devices.

Compressing the Larger Version

Developing a responsive design does not mean that you will just develop a site for the web and compress it for the mobile version. This might result in the site not appearing properly in mobile devices. Hence, you will have to choose the right interface for this purpose. You should utilize responsive interfaces, which also appears properly in a mobile device. It is always great to change the navigation bars in a desktop version to dropdown menus in mobile versions. This will ensure that the users can steer through the website without any problem and yet, the design will not appear distorted in a smaller device.

Offering Less Content for Mobile Devices

Smaller devices offer less space. This drives a large number of websites to have bespoke designs for mobile devices, which contain reduced content. However, that is almost like penalizing the visitors to the website because they are using smaller devices. Hence, it is important to do away with this kind of idea. The mobile users should have similar accesses as the desktop users. However, all the information of the website needs to be provided in the mobile devices in the perfect way to ensure they are user friendly as well.

Creating Large Pages for Mobile Version

Leaving the mobile version of your website with the same amount of stuff to load as the computer version can be a big mistake. Remember, the amount of data that loads on a computer within a few seconds will take minutes to load on the mobile. And on a mobile, the user will wait only a few seconds for the page to open. Hence, it will not be seen by majority of the visitors who will leave the page without waiting for long. This means you should not commit the mistake of offering as much content as possible on the mobile version.

Not Developing for Touchscreen Devices

Majority of the handheld devices now a day are utilized through touch. A large number of devices with touchscreen are dominating the market now. However, a common mistake while developing a website can be to miss out on the version, which works perfectly on a touchscreen. You need to develop the site in a version, which is compatible for the touchscreens and hence, can be perfectly maneuvered in a touchscreen mobile device as well.

There are quite a few traps, which need to be avoided while designing a website in its responsive version. These need to be avoided to ensure that the users get an excellent experience while going through them.

via Business 2 Community http://ift.tt/1fv1K9H