What can I do to maximize the Responsive Web Design experience?

Your site is already responsive! But, there are a few things you can do to help your site accommodate mobile users:

  • Think about dividing your content up into “chunks,” using subheads, bullet lists and images to break up long amounts of text.

  • Try to adopt a “mobile first” mindset around your content - write for the mobile user first, keeping the content brief and clear. This style can also be adapted for the desktop experience, making your content even cleaner and simpler.

  • Focus on speed. The faster your site loads, the better you will hold visitors' attention. This is especially important for mobile access.

    • Content first: Make every word count. Get rid of clutter and unnecessary content, especially on the homepage.

    • Write your content in inverted pyramid style, with the most important information at the beginning and trickling down to the least important information.

    • Don’t bury content deep within your navigation. Get users to your content within the fewest number of clicks as possible.

    • Get rid of large images and compress them whenever you can. Doing this will reduce the size of the entire page and reduce the amount of time it takes for a phone to download a page over a data connection. Try TinyPNG, a free online tool that optimizes and reduces your image sizes.

    • Only use tables for tabular data (numbers and charts), not layout.

    • Limit your use of PDFs, labeling those that you need and eliminating long lists of documents. If it’s less than two pages, consider using a Site Page instead.

Last thing, keep your content clean and concise. Do not muck it up with unnecessary content. Think responsively!

Sources:

The World Fact Book, CIA

Number of Mobile-Only Internet Users Now Exceeds Desktop-Only in the U.S.

Mobile apps overtake PC Internet usage in U.S.

U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015

Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2015–2020 White Paper

Mobile Internet Usage Skyrockets in Past 4 Years to Overtake Desktop as Most Used Digital Platform

Number of Mobile-Only Internet Users Now Exceeds Desktop-Only in the U.S.

Digital in 2016