Nowadays, having a good website is mandatory for every serious business. The word “good” here is not just about the site’s functionality or content. According to Statista, mobile platforms generate more than 50% of overall Internet traffic. That’s why, one of the most important attributes of a good website is responsive design. In simple terms, this is the possibility of the site to adjust to various screens automatically and look equally great on different devices. In this post, you’ll learn how to make a responsive website, why you should build it, and what are the benefits of a mobile app vs responsive website.
Responsive Website via Native Mobile App: What to Choose
The share of mobile Internet users tends to grow from year to year, so, compatibility with mobile devices is a mandatory requirement for any web project. Basically, there are two possible solutions – you can create a responsive website or a native mobile app. That said, one must keep in mind that these solutions are not mutually exclusive. Depending on your company’s profile and specifics, you may opt for a website, an app, or both.
Advantages of a Native Mobile App
In general, developing a standalone mobile application is more expensive than creating a responsive website design. Also, it takes twice as much time. However, it makes sense to opt for a native app in the following cases.
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You provide special services. If you offer something really special or unique, you may need no website, just an app. Among other things, the icon of your app on the screen increases brand awareness.
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24/7 online and offline access is needed. Unlike websites, many applications allow offline access to some features. A website can’t work without an Internet connection.
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An app complements the website. We often use apps as an add-on to sites, serving a convenient tool for faster access to the site's services.
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Native features of a mobile device are used for proper functioning. For example, in cases where the functioning of your product requires such features of a smartphone (camera, GPS, Bluetooth, etc.), a mobile app is just what you need.
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This is an online store or a game. A native mobile app is more beneficial in both cases. After all, few people will ever opt for playing a game in a mobile browser. By the way, Statista claims that an average user spends 4.5 dollars in mobile apps as for 2020.
Also, an app is a preferable option when it comes to handling huge volumes of data or calculations. An example is an investment service where one has to do a lot of calculations.
Advantages of a Website with Responsive Design
Despite being a useful and flexible tool, a mobile app usually serves just an add-on for a website. A website, in turn, is the main instrument of promotion. For the majority of companies, it makes sense to begin their online presence with a website, and once they reach initial goals, they can add an app just to make getting their services more convenient. In some cases, there is no need to create an app at all. One should, without doubt, opt for a responsive website in the following cases:
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Promotion of the company/brand. Suppose, you have a great idea of creating a unique and really useful service like Uber. But nobody knows about you yet. If you just make an app and load it to AppStore or GooglePlay, the number of downloads will be close to zero just because users don’t know what it is. That is why it makes sense to start with a website with a responsive design, which will run smoothly on all devices. Once your brand has become recognizable, you may launch an app.
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Google promotes responsive websites. Due to Google’s concern about user experience, it promotes responsive websites to the top of search results.
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A specific type of platform. Some websites, due to their specifics, just don’t require an app. These can be news portals, food recipe services, e-mail services, and so on.
Irrespective of the type of website you are planning to develop, it’s important to make it responsive. Keep on reading to know how to do it correctly and what challenges you may come across.
Technical Challenges to Consider When Developing a Website with Responsive Design
When developing a responsive website you have to think forward about some pitfalls. Here are four key technical problems associated with a responsive design that you always need to be aware of.
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Content rearrangement. When the screen size and shape are changed, some site elements need to be hidden. Otherwise, the interface will look too cluttered. So, it’s important to reconsider and rearrange all the content, when developing a mobile version.
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Compressing or downscaling large files. Both images and videos of high quality tend to be very large and heavy. Of course, they automatically adjust to small screens but due to their large size, they slow down the page loading significantly. Whenever possible, try to downscale large media.
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Pixel density. To some extent, this issue is associated with the image size. The problem is that the text and images must look crisp and clear both on a PC and phone screen.
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A lot of testing. Responsive websites require much more testing than conventional sites and native apps, as you need to check how it will work on each screen size and shape.
How to Make a Responsive Website: Five Main Steps
Developing a good responsive site includes several stages one needs to go through. Here is an approximate rough development plan consisting of six main steps.
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Prepare the content. Yes, you got it right: content always comes first, not vice versa. A frequent developers’ mistake is to adjust content to a ready-made page template. When doing so, you are risking to get a faulty page. The right approach is to prepare content first and then create pages to arrange it in the best way.
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Design a website mockup. This is the most important and time-consuming stage. It is usually subdivided into several smaller stages.
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Select a proper font and think of navigation. Navigation is crucial for usability, while fonts are responsible for a general impression from the website.
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Test the website on different mobile screens. It’s crucial to make sure it functions properly on screens of different shapes and sizes. Development works, for the most part, are carried out on computers. This is why thorough testing on all mobile screens is mandatory.
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Testing the website in various web-browsers. At this stage, you must verify its correct functioning in all popular browsers.
The completion of these five steps means the preparatory stage is over. After that, the development stage begins. Its complexity largely depends on the quality and accuracy of the preparatory work.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Responsive Website?
No matter whether you opt for in-house or outsource web development, the cost of adaptive and responsive websites is different. In general, a responsive website is more expensive if compared to an adaptive site. At the same time, it is definitely cheaper than developing two separate products.
As we know, the total cost of any project depends on the development time. In the case with a responsive website, you can add 30-50% to the designing time and 30-40% to the time required to test an adaptive site. On average, it increases the cost of an adaptive website by $1050-1750.
