Over the last few years having a responsive website design has become the key to offer a better user experience with a goal to drive more conversion. Or we can say web responsiveness is one of the hot topics in the website design industry. Most of the websites have already started to analyze the importance of creating and offering responsive website designing and some of them have already faced the consequence of non-responsive web design.

While there are a lot of tips and tricks available that can help you to make your website design responsive. But before that, you need to have a detailed idea about the five key elements of responsive web design that you need to look into when creating a responsive web design for your business. Knowing about these elements will help you identify where you need to focus when making your website design responsive. Or we can say it will help you to guide on how to get started with web responsiveness planning.

So make sure you stick to the end of this article to explore some of the important things that will help you to make your website design more responsive and effective. But before they let me offer you a brief idea about who we are to tell you about these web responsiveness elements?

SFWP Experts is a highly reputed award-winning wordpress web design company working with professionals with more than 10 years of experience in creating different website designs for different businesses belonging to various industries. If you wish to create a highly responsive and user-centric website design that drives more traffic and conversion then you can always consult with our experienced professionals.

An overview of responsive web design elements

Like we have mentioned earlier the popularity of web design responsiveness is continuously increasing in the web design industry. Not because competitors are forcing websites to make the design responsive but due to the increase in the number of mobile and tablet users. Most of the users are diversifying the way they use to access the internet or the website. Earlier desktops used to be the primary source of traffic for most of the websites. But with the increase in the number of smartphones users have started to access the internet from their mobile devices.

The days are gone when websites used to focus only on desktop users, now if you wish to make your website and product reach the maximum audience then it’s essential to make the design responsive. Whether you call it laziness or addiction, today users look to find the information or search for any product on the internet from the nearest device. And the mobile device is something that is always present in the user’s hand.

No matter how effective and helpful information and product your website is offering to the audience. If your site visitors are failing to access your design from mobile devices then they will not show interest in engaging with the design which will automatically increase your website bounce rate. The reason why today most businesses look to hire experienced wordpress web design companies for their website and business because they are aware of the fact every experienced professional ensures to create a design that grabs user attention and encourages them to perform the desired action regardless of the device website is getting viewed.

Remember the multi-device culture is constantly rising and widely adopted by different websites and businesses. If you are failing to make your design responsive then you might end up losing prospects searching for your website and the product/service from their mobile device. Not to mention, different devices have different screen sizes and shapes.

Mainly when it comes to smartphones then you may find mobile devices having different screen sizes like iPhone 12 screen size is different for iPhone 12 pro. In the same way, a person using a blackberry mobile will have a different screen shape and size compared to iPhone users. So to make your website design reach smartphone users you need to ensure that the design you are offering is responsive.

But before you start making your web design responsive you need to be aware of different elements that help in making your design responsive. In the coming paragraphs, we will be offering you a detailed idea about these elements to make your journey easier and effective.

If you are looking to explore some of the best award-winning website designs of different years then make sure to check our article on 36 Best Award-Winning Website Designs To Consider in 2021

What is Responsive Website Design?

Before we highlight responsive WordPress website design tips let’s understand the true meaning of responsive WordPress website design. It is an approach that makes the web design and its elements adapt or respond depending on the size of the screen. If we dive down simpler than it simply means a responsive WordPress website automatically detects the resolution of the device that the browser is using and adjusts all the content, elements, and visuals or the whole layouts so that users are able to view every skill element clearly as they viewed on the desktop screens.

For example, your web page might contain elements split into different columns into the desktop devices or screens because there you get full freedom to play with the design and use maximum space to highlight important elements. But when it comes to mobile devices, the view won’t be able to interact and engage with the element or content separated into columns.

The responsiveness of the WordPress website design makes it possible for the user to access the element regardless of the devices and screen it is getting viewed on. The main goal behind making a WordPress website design responsive is to offer a consistent user experience by allowing users to easily maximize, minimize, and scroll the WordPress website along with smooth navigation and all the elements accessible through their fingertips.

By now you must have a clear idea about what a responsive WordPress website design is? Next, let’s take a look into why it’s essential for WordPress websites and businesses to have a responsive WordPress website design?

Why do businesses need to look at elements of responsive web design?

Having a responsive web design is not anymore considered a feature but it has become essential for every business to offer a responsive web design to their prospects. Mainly when you are looking to outperform your existing customer with a goal to drive more traffic and conversion on the website. Before you start to make your web design responsive it’s essential to have a detailed idea about the elements of responsive web design. It will help you to analyze where you need to start when making your web design responsive.

You might be offering a helpful product/service to your prospects but if they are failing to access your design for the mobile or tablet device then all your efforts in creating the product/services can go in vain. The same goes with the visual and design you are creating and offering to your site visitors. Today the internet has helped many businesses to reach out to the maximum number of audiences but to ensure that users are able to interact with your website and business you need to make your website responsive.

Mainly with the increase in the number of smartphones and mobile users if you are ignoring to make your website design responsive then it will directly impact your business revenue. On the other hand, if you are able to create and offer a responsive website design then you will be able to create a great user experience that will result in better conversion and business reputation. So before we start highlighting some of the important elements of responsive web design, let’s take a look at what you need to make your website design responsive.

1. Increase in the mobile usage

As we have mentioned earlier, web responsiveness has become the key factor that helps websites and businesses to drive maximum traffic and conversion on the website. And if your wonder why you need to make your website design responsive then the answer is very simple “
Mobile devices and users are continuously increasing”. Today nearly 58% of American adult-use smartphones and nearly 55% of the traffic is generated from mobile devices. Many states claim soon mobile devices will be the primary source to drive organic and paid traffic.

If you are failing to make your website mobile responsive then you are losing your prospects to competitors that are running responsive website design for their business. Instead of losing your prospects to your competitor’s website you can hire an experienced website design company that can help you to make your design responsive. By hiring experienced professionals for your website you ensure that users lying on your website do not come across any issues or difficulties while interacting with the web design on any device.

So if you wonder why you need to make your web design responsive then remember mobile users are continuously increasing. Not only mobile devices but users have also started to access websites from different devices including tablets and watches.

2. Helps in improving user experience

Having a responsive website design can benefit your business in a number of ways, one among them is offering a better user experience. Today the user experience you create will play a major role in deciding whether the user will convert after landing on your website or not. Most of the time websites focus on appearance and ignore making it responsive. But they forget that the responsiveness of the website decides the user experience of the website design.

If you want your site visitors to explore more about your website and business then you need to create a sense of trust which can only be achieved when you create and offer a better user experience on your website design. When we say responsive then it means users landing on your website through a mobile device should be easily able to navigate between pages, access the content and other elements.

Most of the time users complain about visual and other small elements falling to load on the mobile devices. All these issues result in poorer user experience that leads to poor reputation about the website and business. By making your business website responsive you ensure users landing on your website are able to get the best user experience regardless of the device they are using.

That is the reason why most businesses today look to hire an experienced website design company because they are aware of the fact that an experienced professional not only helps in creating a responsive web design but also ensures that the website design is related to the user’s needs.

3. Cost-effective practice

Undoubtedly making web design responsive helps your prospects to reach your website and the information or product/service they are seeking. But it also benefits your business in a number of ways. Yes getting more traffic and conversion are among the top benefits that businesses get but you also get to save a lot of money that will help you in the long run. Most of the businesses starting with a good budget look to create a separate mobile website for their business. If you are planning to do the same then we recommend you think twice.

When planning to create a separate mobile website you should not only look at the development cost but other costs like website maintenance. SEO and more. Instead of spending the money on a separate mobile website, you can look to make your existing website design responsive or create a new responsive website design so that you just have to spend money on the maintenance and SEO of a single website. The money you save by avoiding mobile websites can be utilized for different purposes mainly to increase the reach of your website, product, and business.

So if you wonder why you need to make your web design responsive then remember it’s a cost-effective practice that allows you to save the extra cost that most of the websites end up losing by creating a dedicated mobile website for their business.

4. Increase your WordPress website and product reach

Web responsiveness not only helps you to save the extra cost but also allows youtube to increase your website and business reach. Here the match is very simple if you are able to create a responsive web design then you will be able to target users looking for your product on different devices. As we have mentioned that desktop used to be the primary source of traffic but with the increase in the number of mobile and tablet users slowing these handheld devices have become another important source of organic and paid traffic.

Today if users wish to look for any information or product/services then they always look to reach the nearest deceive. If you are failing to create a responsive website design then you will be losing your prospects to your competitor’s websites. Today many websites claim that mobile devices have become their main source of traffic and that is the reason why they ensure that their mobile website design not only grabs user attention but encourages them to perform the desired action.

Remember your prospects are always searching for the product and services on different handheld devices. If you are failing to get them on your website and convert them into paying customers then your competitors are always present to grab this opportunity. That is the reason why we recommend you to make your website design responsive to drive maximum traffic on your website and convert them into paying customers.

5. Improve ranking in mobile searches

A mobile-friendly WordPress website can offer you a lot of benefits, one among them is getting a better ranking in mobile searches. If you are running your website for a long time or have optimized your website for SEO then you must be aware of the fact that desktop ranking differs from mobile ranking. If your website is getting top position in desktop search results then it is not essential that your ranking will be the same in the mobile searches. That is the reason why responsiveness has become one of the major ranking factors that allow websites to rank better in mobile services.

To rank better in mobile searches you need to ensure that the web design you are creating and offering is responsive on all devices. Not only for mobile devices but even for desktops responsiveness has become one of the major ranking factors. Google, the leading search engine, introduced mobile-first design keeping the growth in the number of mobile searchers. It aims to offer the best experience to mobile searchers. If your website is not responsive then it will directly impact your website user experience which will result in lower traffic and conversion.

On the other hand, if your website is creating a great experience on mobile devices then google will always recommend your website for targeted keywords. Not only that but by making your website design responsive you will be able to enhance your SEO campaign for better and effective results. So if you wonder why you need to make your website design responsive then remember it helps in improving website ranking.

6. Helps in improving conversion and sales

By making your website design responsive you are able to rank better on the search engine result page and offer a better user experience that results in better results sales and conversion. Most of the time site owners complain that even after offering attractive website design and helpful products they fail to drive the desired amount of sales and conversion on their website. Well, there are a number of reasons that can lead to lower sales and conversion one among them is offering a non-responsive website design.

If users landing on your mobile website are unable to access the design and the element inside then they will simply leave the website without performing the desired action. The conversion of mobile users is dependent on a number of factors like the placement of the elements, the visual, and most importantly how easily the users are able to navigate your mobile website. Before users start to take action on the website they look to go through different pages, designs, and more. A responsive design ensures that users are easily able to navigate through different designs and encourages them to take action on your website.

So, by making your web design responsive you ensure that your site visitors are able to get the best experience regardless of the devices they are using to access your website design. The better experience you are able to create the higher chances will be to convert your mobile site visitors into paying customers.

If you are looking to create a website design that helps you to drive more traffic and conversion on your website then make sure you reach out to an experienced wordpress web design company that can help you to create a highly attractive and conversion-centric website design for your business.

7. Mobile shoppers are continuously increasing

Another important reason why you need to make your website design responsive is that the number of mobile shoppers is continuously increasing. Today the internet has made it easier for the user to avoid visiting physical stores to make any purchase. Now users are easily able to shop online just by making a few clicks. Earlier desktops used to be the primary source to shop online. But the smartphones have made it easier for the user to buy any product for different websites and apps.

If your business is selling products online then you need to ensure that the web design you are offering is highly responsive. Because if you are looking to convert your prospects into paying customers then you need to offer the best user experience on mobile devices which can only be achieved when you create and offer a highly responsive web design to the audience. Mobile devices have made it easy for the user to shop online. That is the reason why they are becoming addicted to using mobile devices to make their purchase.

A responsive website design ensures that the product inside your website is presented in a way that encourages site visitors to explore more about your website and convert into paying customers. So if you wonder why you need to make your website design responsive then remember the number of mobile shoppers is continuously increasing.

By now you must be having a detailed idea about why you need to make your website design responsive. Next, let’s take a look at some of the important web responsiveness elements that you can consider for your website and business.

5 Key elements of responsive web design

1. Mobile Navigation

Mobile navigation is one of the most important elements of responsive web design. The navigation menu you create and offer should be able to shift its shape and size depending on how it’s getting opened. It can be only achieved when you make your website navigation responsive. You might be offering the traditional horizontal menu to your desktop user but if you are doing the same for your mobile user then you might be doing more harm to your mobile website traffic and conversion.

A responsive menu can change in different ways and appear in different locations with different styling spring on the device it is getting viewed. The main goal behind changing the location and style is not only to make the design effective but to ensure that every user landing on your website is getting the best user experience regardless of the device they are using.

The user experience on mobile devices is different from the desktop because users are able to click on the small button on the desktop but when it comes to mobile devices it becomes hard for them to take action on the small button. That is the reason why hamburger menus are widely used for mobile navigation.

The hamburger navigation menu makes it easy for the site owner to display the navigation menu with a larger button without impacting the layout or the content inside the website design. Users can easily tap on the hamburger menu button and form that they can access the menu they want to. The effectiveness of the hamburger menu has convinced many websites to use the navigation menu style for mobile as well as desktop users.

If you are getting your website designed by an experienced website design company then you don’t have to worry about the navigation menu as they will ensure to select the best navigation menu that matches your site visitors expectations and encourages them to explore more about the website and business and get the best user experience across all the devices.

2. Fluid Grid

The next in the list of key elements of responsive web design is “Flexible Grid”. The term grid is very much popular in the web design industry and when it comes to making a website responsive then it’s always recommended to make use of the fluid grid for your website design. It is considered as the key elements of responsive design that helps businesses to engage more and more site visitors regardless of the device it is getting viewed on.

By saying that your website should consist of the fluid grid we are not implying that you can not choose another option as you have a different grid option to select from. But the fluid grid layout helps the element and content in your website to shift its size depending on the type of screen it is getting viewed. By using a fluid grid layout you ensure that your website is able to define its own parameters like the spacing, size, and more depending on the device, it is getting viewed.

Today most of the grid systems out there make use of the CSS class to define the space, alignment, and most important size of the element and content. Whether you are using a fluid grid system or other grid for your website the effectiveness of it will be decided on how it changes the shape and size of your website on different screens.

Most of you belonging to the designing field must be thinking of how to avoid pixels and replace them with web layout as it’s the common trend that has been followed for many years. Yes, you can make use of the pixels in the image editing software. But here you add one more step where you convert the pixel into a web layout for a better unit of measurement.

3. Flexible Images

Flexible images are another important element of responsive web design. While flexible images with fluid grids work best for small devices it offers a small header to the web designers. To scale down oversized images web designers make use of the height HTML attribute with a goal to create more space for the text on small devices. But these types of practices are not good when it comes to creating a fast-loading website design.

That is the reason why websites look to adopt only important images and eliminate unnecessary images and stock photos with a goal to offer a better site experience and loading speed. A flexible image automatically shifts its shape and size depending on the screen. But following the same for the heavy images can slow your loading speed. To avoid that we recommend you to evaluate your existing website to identify the heavy and unnecessary images that you don’t want to display on mobile devices.

Websites also make use of the CSS to crop the images so that it scales better on different devices. The CSS overflow property is one of most effective ways to crop the images dynamically so that it fits properly in the display environment. Another way to make images responsive is by using a different version of the image and storing them on the server so that the server sends responses depending on the device used by the user. It’s done with the help of DOM manipulation.

And another way you can make your web design responsive is by hiding the images that you do not want mobile users to access. Your website might have images that may look good on desktop but can destroy the mobile website appearance. So you can hide these images to make the design more responsive and effective on mobile devices. Or you can also take the help of an experienced website design company that can help you guide how you can make your web design responsive for all devices.

4. Media Queries

When it comes to making a website responsive then businesses should look into the media queries. It is considered one of the most important elements or features of responsive web design. While most businesses think that media query is the only feature or we can say the core component of the responsive website redesign. Because of that, they make flexible pages and images as optional elements of responsive design. But in reality, media queries can never offer you results if your website is not keeping flexible pages and images on the top priority when making their design responsive.

Media query is the technique used by the CSS to identify the width of the browser and send a response depending on that. It allows designers to create different layouts with the help of the same HTML document depending on the user’s browser size, screen resolution, the color it can render, landscape/portrait orientation, and more. For example, before displaying the website the CSS can ask the browser about the resolution it is using, the width of the frame, and more. Depending on that it responds and ensures users are able to get the best experience while scrolling the website design.

Media queries are vital when it comes to making a website design responsive because most of the time fluid grid has breakpoints that make the design look confusing. But the media queries ensure that the page’s users are viewing offers a pleasant experience that encourages them to explore more about the website and business. But here is the take: the media queries are not specifically meant to solve mobile or tablet user problems. Instead, you can say it acts as the source to help websites to offer a better user experience on mobile devices by displaying the design more effectively.

5. Use of White Space and padding

When it comes to making a website design responsive than padding and white space play a cruel role in depending on how easily mobile users are able to access your website design. While the flexible grid and image allow you to display your website more effectively, using the right padding and whitespace in your website design will help you to maintain the right hierarchy and engage more visitors.

Most mobile users abandon the website because the design looks too crowded or misaligned. These types of practices will not only harm your website conversion but the reputation of your website and business. That is the reason why you need to ensure that the padding and whitespace do not disappear and make the design confusing on the small screen.

When a user starts engaging with the content on your website on a small screen then font size and the spacing between words and lines will play a major role in deciding whether the user will continue to read the content or not. A responsive web design ensures that every small element in your website is displayed in the right visual manner regardless of the device it is getting opened. That is the reason why padding and whitespace are included in the list.

To identify whether your website is having the right padding and white space for a small screen or not it’s always recommended to make use of the eye. There is nothing better than your eye that can offer you a detailed idea of whether your website uses sufficient white space or not. It will also help you to identify whether mobile users will be able to interact with the font size or not.

Conclusion

By now you must be having a detailed idea about the important element of responsive web design. A responsive web design allows you to present the information product & services more effectively. Or we can say it helps site owners to present the site in the best visual manner that encourages site visitors to explore more about the website and perform the desired action.

Many websites today have already started to understand the importance of having a responsive website design for their business. But they fail to identify how to make their design responsive. Above we have listed five elements of responsive web design that will not only help you to make your website design responsive but will also get a detailed idea about how you can get started with creating responsive design.

Making a website design responsive needs a lot of technical knowledge and experience, that is the reason why most businesses today look to hire an experienced website design company for their business. Hiring an experienced professional will not only help you to create a responsive design but will also help you to create a user-centric design that encourages users to perform the desired action.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What are Responsive web design examples?

Before starting to make their web design responsive every website looks for some examples that can help you to identify how the responsive web design looks. Below we are going to highlight some of the best responsive web design examples that can inspire you and offer you a detailed idea about how a responsive web design appears. The list includes some of the popular names that you can easily recognize:

Dribble
Github
Dropbox
Magic Leap
Smashing Magazine
Slack
Treehouse
Shopify
And many more

2. What are the key differences between responsive design and adaptive design?

Most websites and businesses today get confused between responsive and adaptive design. Responsive web designs are considered fluid and easily adapt to different screen sizes regardless of the devices used by the user to open a website. Whereas an adaptive design makes use of the static layout that does not respond once it’s loaded. That is the reason why responsive design is always preferred over adaptive design.

If you are looking to create a responsive web design for your business then it’s always recommended to hire an experienced website design company that can help you to create a highly attractive and conversion-centric website design that drives more revenue and ROI.

3. How do I fix web responsiveness issues?

There are a number of ways using which you can fix the responsiveness issues of your website design. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Optimize navigation of your website
Make sure the appearance of the background images and the icons in your website design fits well on a smaller screen
Select the right size for the CTA button and links on your website
Optimize the text inside your website
Make use of sufficient whitespace and padding
Improve website loading speed
Hide unnecessary images and content
Fix the visual element in your website design
And many more

4. How to make HTML code responsive?

If you are looking to make your HTML code responsive then here is how you can make the design responsive:

Start with setting the viewport
Make the images responsive
Response text
Make use of media queries
Responsive framework
And many more

Making an HTML code responsive always requires help from experienced professionals. If you are looking to create a responsive web design for your business then you can always reach out to our experienced website design company that can help you to create a highly attractive and conversion-centric website design for your website and business.