How to make a website responsive?

With the democratization of smartphones and tablets, making a website responsive has become essential. A responsive site is able to automatically adapt to different browsing devices – desktop, mobile, tablet – to provide an optimal user experience. A responsive website is also good for web referencing.

According to Google, more than 60% of searches are now carried out from a mobile. It is therefore imperative to optimize your site for these devices, otherwise your traffic will drop. Yet many sites are still not designed adaptively.

Nowadays, the design of so-called “web sites”responsive” (or adaptable) has become essential. But what exactly does this mean? How do you actually make a website optimized for all screen sizes?

Responsive design consists of creating a site capable of automatically adapting in terms of layout and dimensions to offer an optimal user experience on all devices: desktops 🖥️, tablets 💻, smartphones 📱.

Here are the key best practices to put in place to create a perfectly responsive site:

🚀 Use relative units (%, em, rem) rather than pixels in CSS

To allow full adaptability of elements, it is recommended to use relative units of measurement such as %, em or rem rather than fixed pixels in your CSS rules. Percentages allow automatic resizing based on screen size.

One of the key best practices for creating a responsive site is to avoid to use fixed pixels in your CSS rules. Indeed, pixels do not allow the size of the elements to be adapted depending on the device.

It is recommended to favor so-called relative units like percentages (%), em or rem in place. The % in particular will allow automatic resizing of boxes, texts, margins, etc. depending on the screen size.

For example, a width set to 50% in CSS will ensure that the element will always take up 50% of the available width, whether on a PC, tablet or smartphone screen. This fluid approach is ideal for creating flexible layouts that adapt perfectly.

🚀 Define media queries in the CSS stylesheet

CSS media queries are essential instructions for create a responsive website. They allow you to define specific CSS rules which will apply depending on the width of the display window (viewport).

You can easily specify layouts, fonts, margins, etc. different depending on whether the user is on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone. For example, we can define that in below 768px wide, navigation changes to hamburger menu.

Media queries allow you to finely adapt the rendering and arrangement of elements depending on the screen size. Combined with flexible CSS units, they are essential for create a perfect site responsive and provide the best user experience.

🚀 Make images responsive

The images must also be adapted to prevent them from stretching disproportionately on certain devices. Must therefore optimize your images for SEO. A simple best practice is to set their width as a percentage in HTML code or via CSS.

We can also use the CSS property “max-width: 100%” so that the image adapts to its container while maintaining its proportions. It is also recommended to define several versions of the same image at different resolutions and to indicate to the browser which version to serve depending on the screen size via the “ attributesrcset".

In responsive, images should automatically resize rather than stretching, to ensure optimal quality on all devices.

🚀 Use a responsive CSS framework

Using a responsive CSS framework is one of the best practices for making a website responsive. CSS frameworks like Bootstrap, Foundation, Bulma, and Materialize offer predefined layout grids and responsive components that make it easy to create a responsive website.

These frameworks provide ready-to-use CSS classes that allow you to create layouts flexible and responsive page. They use techniques such as media queries to automatically adjust the layout and style based on the screen size of the device used to view the site.

By using a responsive CSS framework, you can quickly set up a basic structure for your website that adapts smoothly to different devices and screen sizes. You can easily organize the elements of your site using the grids provided by the framework, which allows for a consistent layout across all devices.

🚀 Test rendering on all devices

It is essential to test the display of your website on computers, tablets and smartphones to ensure that it adapts perfectly to each screen width.

Most modern browsers, such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, offer integrated development tools. These tools allow you to simulate different devices and screen sizes to visualize the rendering of the website. You can access these tools by right-clicking on the page and then selecting “Inspect" or "Inspect element".

There are free online services such as BrowserStack and CrossBrowserTesting which allow you to test the rendering of a website on a wide variety of devices and browsers. These services allow you to view your website on different virtual or physical devices, giving you a clear idea of ​​how it will look on each device.

Device emulators and simulators are software that replicates the characteristics and behavior of real devices. For example, to test on iOS, you can use the Xcode emulator for Apple devices.

For Android, Android Studio emulator is available. These tools allow you to test your website on virtual devices with different screen resolutions.

🚀 Avoid fixed-size elements

To make a website responsive, it is essential to avoid fixed-size elements. Here are some tips to achieve this:

Use flexible units of measurement: Instead of using pixels (px) to define the size of elements, instead use flexible units of measurement such as percentages (%) or viewport units (vh, vw). This allows elements to scale proportionally to the screen size.

Use flexible racks: Flexible grids, like those provided by responsive CSS frameworks, allow you to create adaptive layouts using flexible columns and rows. This allows elements to automatically rearrange themselves based on screen size, providing a consistent user experience across all devices.

Avoid fixed widths for images: Instead of specifying a fixed width for images, use the CSS property “max-width: 100%;” to allow images to resize proportionally to the size of their container. This ensures that images adapt correctly to different devices without overflowing or distorting.

Use the media queries: Media queries are CSS rules that allow you to apply different styles depending on the size of the screen. Use them to adjust the style of elements for different screen resolutions to optimize viewing on each device.

🚀 Simplify mobile navigation

To simplify mobile navigation and provide a better user experience, here are some tips to follow:

Use a mobile navigation menu: Replace the traditional navigation menu with a mobile navigation menu, such as a hamburger menu. This type of menu helps reduce screen clutter and makes navigation more intuitive for mobile users.

Limit the number of navigation elements: Reduce the number of navigation items displayed in the mobile menu. Identify the most important elements and focus on them for easier navigation. You can also group similar items under categories to avoid a long menu.

Use single-level navigation : Avoid complex drop-down menus with multiple levels of submenus on mobile devices. Instead, opt for single-level navigation, where users can navigate directly to the main sections of the site without having to navigate through multiple levels.

Use clear action buttons: Use clear, easily clickable action buttons to guide users to specific actions, like adding a product to cart or submitting a form. Make sure the buttons are large enough to be easily tapped with your finger.

Use intuitive icons: Use recognizable icons to represent actions or categories in the mobile navigation menu. Well-designed icons can help users quickly understand the meaning of navigation elements without having to read lengthy labels.

🚀 Closing

The design of Responsive sites have become a necessity to provide a quality user experience across all devices.

By following best practices such as using flexible CSS units, implementing media queries or optimizing images, any website can be made perfectly adaptable.

Thanks to these few simple rules, you will guarantee optimal display of your website on desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. No more zooming in and out for comfortable navigation!

To go even further, I recommend using the powerful WP Rocket plugin on WordPress. It will allow you to optimize as much as possible the loading speed of your site responsive. A site that is both adaptive and ultra-fast is the key to User experience irreproachable!

FAQ

Q: What is responsive design?

A: The responsive design is a web design approach that aims to make a website adaptive and functional on all devices and screen sizes. It allows content and layout to automatically adjust to provide an optimal user experience, whether on a desktop, tablet or smartphone.

Q: Why is it important to make a website responsive?

A: Making a website responsive is essential to providing a consistent, quality user experience across all devices. With the increase in the use of mobile devices, it is crucial to adapt your website to meet user expectations and to improve your search engine ranking.

Q: What are the key principles of responsive web development?

A: The key principles of responsive web development include using flexible grids, avoiding fixed-size elements, adapting images, using media queries to apply different styles depending on the size of the image. screen, and the simplification of navigation on mobile.

Q: What is a responsive CSS framework?

Yet CSS framework Responsive is a set of pre-made CSS styles and responsive components that make it easy to create a responsive website. These frameworks, such as Bootstrap, Foundation, and Bulma, provide flexible layout grids, ready-to-use CSS classes, and responsive components to speed up the development process.

Q: How do I test how a website renders on different devices?

A: To test how a website renders on different devices, you can use the browser's developer tools that allow you to simulate different screen sizes. You can also use online services, device emulators or simulators, or test on real physical devices.

Q: What are the best practices for simplifying mobile navigation?

A: To simplify mobile navigation, use a mobile navigation menu such as a hamburger menu, limit the number of navigation items, use single-level navigation, use clear action buttons, optimize for speed loading, use intuitive icons and regularly test navigation on different devices.

Q: How can I make my existing website responsive?

A: To make your existing website responsive, you can use a responsive CSS framework to make it easier to set up an adaptive structure. You'll also need to modify existing CSS code to use flexible units of measurement, avoid fixed-size elements, and apply specific styles to different screen sizes using media queries.