What is Responsive Web Design?

The internet and its technologies are changing rapidly, as are the device we use to access it.  In the past, the dynamic nature of the World Wide Web was somewhat handcuffed by the fact that we could only access online technologies from our home computers.  Today however, mobile devices, laptops, and tablet computers allow us to surf the web from nearly every corner of the planet.  Subsequently, the way we use the internet and the way we develop websites has also changed.  And that brings us to responsive web design.

So, what is responsive web design?  In the simplest terms, responsive web design (RWD) is an approach that endeavours to craft a site in such a way that the end user experiences optimal viewing without the need for constant resizing, panning, and scrolling regardless of what type of device they are using.  Whether customers are accessing your site from a desktop computer or a mobile phone, the site’s layout is automatically optimized for the user’s screen.  RWD is exciting since it constitutes a completely different design mentality than traditional web design. 

Responsive Web Design is a very new concept, and is recognized as one of the top web design trends in 2012.  A site designed with RWD utilizes fluid proportion-based grids and flexible images in order to adapt to the viewer’s device layout.  Unlike traditional forms of web design, RWD uses different style rules that are based on characteristics of the viewing device and the width of the browser.  Page element sizing is more fluid as it relies on ratios or percentages rather than absolute units such as pixels.  Flexible images also rely on relative sizing so that they will display correctly regardless of the user’s device.

Learn how to Redesign website with this simple Step-by-Step Redesign Guide.

Ultimately, responsive web design is bound to become a powerful tool that will allow us to think beyond the restrictions of the printed page.  Web sites are not bound by the same rules as print medium, so our designs are considerably more flexible.  Moreover, web design is almost defined by transience, and our technologies are constantly being refined, replaced, or revised.  RWD is the forefront of web design, but in just a few years it has the potential to be the standard of design.  As devices and input methods become more dynamic, companies want to build customized websites that function efficiently for all devices.  Responsive web design will allow a developer to make one page that functions seamlessly across devices.

Many web developers already see responsive web design as the future of their art.  Instead of developing separate, device-specific sites, forward thinking designers seek progressive solutions.  RWD is redefining web design in such a way that rewards creativity and flexibility. 

How To Improve Seo

There are two main schools of thought on the subject of search engine optimization. Some feel that you have to be conjuring up as much content as humanly possible with the keywords in all the right places, and that can be the end of it. Others feel that posting less frequently and simply pouring a lot of effort into a post that will hopefully connect with readers is the way to go. Add a few tags at the end, and you’re done. The reality is somewhere in between these two schools of thought, and if you really want to stand a chance of improving SEO, then you have to find that right spot.

Step One: Commit to daily posts

Your competitors are already doing it, and they’re also trying to gauge topics that their audience will want to read about. You can learn a lot from your competitors, but make sure that you are LEARNING from them and not STEALING from them. Bring your own unique vision. Write in a clear and legible manner using short sentences. And make sure that you can keep the items coming every day of the week.

Step Two: Tag appropriately

To make life easier on the search engines, you will certainly want to do the best you can with appropriate tags of your material. What is the post about? What keywords would a user have to search for your post to score well? Whatever the answers are to those questions are what your tags should be. Try to include 5 to 10 for every post.

Step Three: Keep it coming

While search engine optimization should have a focus on quality – after all, you want your audience and your potential audience to believe that you’ve got something compelling to say – you can’t hold their attention if you’re not using frequency of posts to your advantage. Depending on the niche market you’re trying to fill, and you should be trying to fill one, you are going to have to give them a reason to come back for more.

Step Four: Use social media

Social media is now as much a part of the SEO process as writing articles and tagging correctly. When using social media sites like Twitter, you can actually find your target audience through keyword searches. Including keywords in your tweets is also a good way of driving people to your site. Just make sure that once they’re there, you’ve got material that is worth their reading time.
When you get ready to launch your SEO campaign, make sure that you have covered the bases above. You can make SEO work very powerfully to your advantage, but first you have to put forth the effort and commit to your own success.

Vadim Kotin is the founder of Vancouver based Digital Marketing Agency VN Web Group