What is Responsive Design and why is it so important?

We live in a world where people connect to the internet through mobile devices. That is why in recent years responsive design has been given so much importance.

A website today that does not have responsive design is not only going to be unattractive to those who visit your site from a mobile phone, but it can also affect positioning.

If you're just starting out with a website or learning front-end programming, this is a basic concept to keep in mind. That is why in this article we are going to explain a little more about what responsive design is, its advantages and importance.

What is responsive design?

Responsive design or responsive design is a widely used technique today with which you will be able to adapt the design of your website to a smaller screen, such as that of mobile phones or tablets.

The main objective of this technique is that the website looks good regardless of the device on which it is visited. If it is not done, when accessing from a mobile, the person will see the website very small, which makes it quite uncomfortable.

As a result, it is likely that the person will end up leaving the website, but not only that, but search engines give more importance to websites that have a responsive design.

What is mobile first?

You already know what responsive design is, but it is very likely that you will also hear the word “mobile first”, this refers to a “good practice” related to responsive design.

This means that a website must be designed for mobile devices first and then adapted to computers. Websites made this way tend to rank much better than others, which makes this a great practice.

If you're new to web design, you might find it a bit more difficult to apply mobile first, however, it's something you should aim for. After all, let's remember that 65% of all internet browsing is done on mobile devices. And this is something that will continue to gain ground in the coming years.

So, if you are learning, it is very important that you take into account what responsive design is. And if you already know design, but you focus mainly on desktop design, you are going to need to learn how to adapt websites to mobile devices.

Benefits of responsive design

Now that you are clear about the concepts of what responsive design is, the next thing you should take into account are the benefits that this will bring you. And it not only brings benefits for you, but also for visitors who can enjoy a better browsing experience.

Next, we will tell you what are the best benefits that responsive design has to offer.

1. Say goodbye to duplicate content

Previously, if you wanted to have a mobile friendly website, you used to make a separate copy of the site. For example: m.mysite.com or mysite.com/mobile.

Although it was a short-term solution, the truth is that it could lead to problems related to duplicate content and SEO.

Today this is not necessary, with responsive design you use the same website that dynamically adapts to the screen of the device from which it is viewed.

Believe it or not, even today there are websites that use another site for the mobile version and that is a very bad practice.

2. A better user experience

Another of the main benefits of responsive design is that it offers a good user experience. The content adapts perfectly to the space you have, which greatly facilitates the reading and navigation of the website.

With this you will prevent the user from leaving the website by making it attractive to him. So this is something you should always keep in mind.

3. Lower development and maintenance costs

Using responsive design in a template will save you from having to make another mobile-friendly website. This makes the cost of development lower and also the cost of keeping both sites online is reduced substantially.

So responsive design can help you save some money in the development process. And of course, this is essential, especially when the budget is limited.

4. Improve web positioning

The majority of people who surf the web do so through mobile devices. Search engines know this and that is why they give higher visibility to websites that have responsive design.

This is something key that you must take into account to increase the visibility of your website.

Importance of responsive design

We already know that most people access the internet from a mobile device. That is why responsive design is key to creating a website that adapts to the mobile screen, regardless of which one it is.

This makes it easier for the user to navigate through the different sections of the website, in addition, it makes it visually pleasing. With this you get a greater retention of the public and this is something key for SEO positioning.

What should you learn to make a responsive design?

Fortunately, making a responsive design is not as difficult as many believe. However, to achieve this, it is necessary to have knowledge of 3 different types of languages.

The first is HTML, this is a key language for any web project, since it allows the site to be structured. It is a mandatory learning language for all those who seek to learn front-end development.

Even if you're a back-end pro, it's also a very good idea to learn HTML. It is a simple language to learn, so it should not represent a great challenge.

The next thing you should know is CSS, this is the one that will allow you to style and decorate the website. The learning curve of CSS is higher than that of HTML, however, with practice it is possible to completely master it.

Finally, you need to learn some Javascript to be able to perform some actions to finish responsive design.

You don't need to be an expert in Javascript, however, it is a good idea to learn the basics. In any case, if your goal is to become a front-end developer, this is the key language to know.