Reach a Broader Market with Responsive, Mobile-Friendly Websites

In today’s increasingly diverse technological marketplace, having a website that is both responsive and mobile friendly is critical.  Considering the rapid expansion of smart device adoption (phones, tablets, etc.), any website that isn’t responsive and mobile-friendly could be ignoring and sacrificing more than half of their potential traffic.

Fortunately, Capital Designs has been designing and developing websites for nearly two decades, so we have the expertise to advise and create the most advanced, compliant websites.

While the technology and coding behind the internet are constantly evolving, the purpose and potential of business websites has remained constant – to attract and convert as many visitors as possible.  That means remaining accessible to as many content consumption devices as possible.  Through careful planning and current best practice coding processes, we can help you achieve this.

We are happy to answer any questions you might have about our skills, experience and/or expertise and would appreciate the opportunity to provide direction or an estimate on our services.

Depending on your individual target audience and website objectives, your website may require different technical options.  Following is a quick comparison of responsive and mobile-friendly options:

1. A responsive website is dynamic, adjusting its content based on the preferences and parameters of each individual visitor’s device.  These carefully designed sites utilize condensed navigation, optimized images and careful padding and spacing to ensure visual flexibility.  For example, a responsive three column website will automatically scale down to a one column website display when the visitor is using a narrow cell phone to view.
2. A mobile-friendly website appears and functions the same across all devices. These static sites exclude or limit the use of navigation drop-downs, flash animation, large images, etc.

If your content and functionality is more complex, consider using responsive elements (but expect a larger overall development cost).  If you want your content to appear consistently across all devices and don’t mind simplifying content and features, consider using mobile-friendly elements.

When designing and developing a responsive, mobile-friendly website, consider the following:

1. Start with mobile-friendly design elements and scale up from there.  Make sure the content and functionality work from the most basic level before you add complexity.
2. Plan your navigation carefully, organizing and using only those menu items that are intuitive and necessary.  Simplify and outline content whenever possible.
3. Outline and finalize your design plan before doing any coding.  This allows for the tweaking and perfection of look and feel prior to investment in any actual coding.
4. Optimize and size images for each layout using exact measurements.  This eliminates scaling and preserves the resolution and quality of your images.  Also, make proper use of JPEG (logos, graphics), GIF (animations, simple graphics) and PNG-8 (fine detail imeages) file formats.
5. Utilize an existing framework.  Customizing existing themes can allow your developer to save significant time and reduce costs.

Responsive and mobile-friendly websites may require a bit more planning and investment than simple, traditional websites, but the benefits of utilizing these techniques far outweight the costs.  Following are just a few of the reasons to consider updating your website to a more responsive, mobile-friendly design.

1. Investing a responsive website can actually save you money.  Instead of building a separate desktop and mobile sites, business owners can actually reach the widest possible audience using a single, carefully planned responsive site.
2. A responsive website can improve your search engine rankings.  Having a single, dynamic version of your website makes it easier for search engines to review, process and share your content.
3. Responsive, mobile-friendly websites improve the visitor experience and your chances at conversion.  By considering and respecting the way the user interact with your website, you are developing trust and earning respect (both of which can result in higher sales).