Thanks to the vast range of electronic devices available today, from desktops to laptops, Tablets, Smartphones, & now even smart TVs, the number of users has increased tremendously compared to the previous scenario. This results in web design companies ushering in a more interactive environment where people can make an easy transit between pages even if accessing on different devices. A Responsive Web Design (RWD) means unique web content source which can be accessed in a readable manner when viewed across different screen sizes. RWD actually helps to save money & time due to the fact that a single design has to be dealt with in order to make any changes in the future.

How it differs from a traditional User Interface (UI) design?

A RWD might be an ideal option in some cases but in others more user interaction is required in terms of a traditional user interface experience where people expect different kinds of visual appeal & utility when working on different devices. RWD works best when a website is content driven, as users will give more importance to reading the content rather than interacting with the website. On the other hand, a traditional UI design focuses more on the positioning of elements in such a manner so as to provide a thorough understanding of the website in the most simplistic way. RWD does not focus on what exactly to offer but instead it focuses on how exactly to offer, whereas a UI works just the opposite way. Here we can easily interpret that a RWD could be more effective on the developer’s side but a UI certainly turns out to be a winner as far as the users are concerned.

Pros & Cons:

Both have their own advantages & disadvantages. A RWD provides customized content with the help of a single design. This makes it easy for users to modify the content in the most cost effective manner for a long term ownership as compared to traditional UI design which needs to be modified differently for different devices. But in the case of a UI design, every device has a different interface. It entices users to go for different website styles for different devices compared to RWD which has a same single design for all versions. Developers strive to go for a RWD because in that way they can prepare sites or applications for all sizes which can be much easier to maintain. But RWD can be very slow when it comes to the loading of images because big or small screen, the image needs to be large enough.

Summary:

Companies should consider going for a hybrid design which not just encompasses the screen optimization aspect of RWD but also covers the user experience based component designing. In this manner the final output would be a website which not only fits to multiple screens but also satisfies the usability factor from a user’s perspective.

Internet visitors come to your website after reviewing lots of similar websites and thus it is vital that your website designer designs a home page that gives a long lasting impression of your website. An appealing and well-designed home page has become a necessity for success in online business.

So what makes an ideal home page? What are the key ingredients web designers should include while designing a home page? Well, just go through the list provided below to get the answers to all your questions.

• Simplicity is the key ingredient! If you have ever visited popular websites, you will find that their websites have very simple and convenient home pages. Therefore, as a small business owner, try to make the home page of your website as simple as possible. Make sure that it easily conveys your message through relevant images or taglines.

• Quick enough to load! This is another key ingredient that helps you engage visitors to your website for a long time. If your home page takes more time to load, the user will move away from your site to the next one. Make sure that the home page of your website loads in 7 or 10 seconds.

• Make sure that it includes & display right links! I know that I just emphasized on the simplicity of a website, but it is necessary to include certain links to help visitors find relevant information. Remember visitors want to know about your business, current news and about the product. So provide them the required information by including only relevant links in the home page.

• Always display new or featured products above the fold on the home page! Displaying fresh or newly launched products above the fold will help you attract more visitors to your website and help you convert leads into sales.

• Make sure that the home page you design is goal oriented!

In short, if you include the factors discussed above on your home page, it will really help you pave the way to success.

• Speed in the mobile devices differ that of the computer devices.
• Visually mobiles have a smaller screen than computer devices.
• Internet in case of mobiles can be accessed through GPRS-Edge whereas in case of computer devices you can access internet through broadband services.

Let’s have a look at different aspects of mobile website design in order to make mobile surfing a smoothening experience for the users:

Design Delivery:
Experience of surfing should be delivered in a manner so as to make the website visually appealing and intuitive. For this, design of layout and elements should be in a proper and systematic way making it simple and user friendly for the users to go about the website. A cross platform design is difficult to make as mobile web in addition to WML language require different operating system compatibility such as iOS, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, etc. whereas in case of desktop based designs only HTML language is required. One option is to simply create or modify your existing code to make design work well on different mobiles or to create different new designs for different devices.

Redirecting Traffic:
Route the traffic to your mobile site from your website so that users will automatically be redirected to let say mobile.websitename.com, by creating an optimized layout on the same. Here it is important to note that users must become aware of the mobile version of your website and also they should be given a choice to choose between a mobile version and the normal version. Need not to forget that users should be given a flexibility to go to normal site design.

Code Structure:
Only mobile friendly languages like WML or XHTML should be used; build websites for all kinds of operating systems; it should be such so as to incur less cost and provide more speed and modern standards like HTML5 and CSS3 should be incorporated.

Cost:
Most mobile internet providers cap connections resulting in an expensive and limited bandwidth. Also roaming charges outside a country can cost a lot. Hence mobile websites should be built in a way so that it is user friendly, simple and standard based.

Layout: 
Mobile layout is an important area to be taken care of because:

• Mobiles are of different sizes, small or large
• Mobiles vary a lot in terms of resolution and quality
• Mobiles may or may not support zooming facility, so it shouldn’t be cumbersome to scroll especially in small screen mobile phones

Simplicity:
More information filled in a website will lead to more scrolling and harder to grasp altogether. Users must be given least amount of burden to surf websites smoothly and so single columns must be used in designing in order to facilitate small screens as multi-column layouts often break in a limited and congested space.

Accessibility:
Mobile website layout should have large links and clickable objects so that navigation becomes a streamline experience to deal with. Reducing the amount of clicks, and zooms and scrolls will make user mobile website user friendly and as simpler as possible.

Content:
Excess images, text and media can be removed as website with less content is more likely to be read and surfed upon. It will result in minimized scrolling, small website size, quick readability and will occupy less bandwidth. If your design is just a modification of your existing layout then you can hide unnecessary text, images or media.

Images:
Large background or heavy images can create a problem if not taken care of. For larger screens this might not be an issue but handsets with smaller screens may find it pretty difficult to deal with large images in terms of resolution and memory as they consume a high amount of bandwidth making it cumbersome for such handsets.

Media:

Audio/Video can be a source of rich content to be displayed on your website making it more effective and attractive to surf. So few things should be taken into consideration while utilizing video and audio:

• Beware of flash and similar other formats not supported by many devices
• Optimize the file size of audio/video to the maximum possible extent
• To save bandwidth, don’t make the website automatically download audio/video until requested by users
• Don’t make your audio/video auto play until requested as it will consume a lot of bandwidth

Cross Device Switchover:
It’s pretty much different to surf web over computers and mobiles. Mobiles unlike computers lack mouse and keyboard is multiple times smaller than that of a computer. So features and functions must be so user friendly so as to make it easier for computer users to surf in a similar fashion in case of mobiles as well.

Connectivity:
There are places where mobile networks fail to receive signals. In such cases operating internet becomes difficult or impossible. So it is always convenient to create a website which can work both offline and online.

Testing:
There are a wide range of emulators to test your website on various standardization parameters to be on a competitive edge with the competitors. So it is pretty much important to ensure that a wide audience can access and use the website in a functional and enjoyable way.

Fast, Small and Simple:
There had been speed, bandwidth and connection issues in the past era of internet. Internet connections always dealt with such issues as initially as it was initially connected with phone devices at your home. So it always happened that whenever there in an incoming or outgoing call, the connection got interrupted leading to disconnect. Also initially low bandwidth space was allocated which offered low speed. But today due to development and progress in mobile network infrastructure, connectivity is widely available at a blazing speed with unlimited bandwidth. But a lot of new developments are still awaited in terms of network towers, signals and internet offers. Till that time mobile websites should be fast, small as well as simple.

If you wish to do your business online, then e-commerce website development is the key for achieving success. But to develop e-commerce websites one may need to have enough market understanding and programming skills. Therefore, one should be a bit choosy when it comes to selecting an e-commerce web development company to develop your e-commerce website.

Below are some handy tips which will help you find the best company to develop your e-commerce site.

• The first and most important thing to consider is to take a deep look at the company’s work portfolio. Knowledge about the company’s past work will give you an idea about the quality of their work.

• Try to know their market understanding. E-commerce websites are made for target audiences and if they are not designed and developed properly, it may result in failure of your online business.

• Price should not be the prime concern. Price quotes offered by the development company is not the only criteria to make your choice. Many companies have different strategies and may offer a variety of services and based on these their offer price may vary. So, rather than concentrating on price, focus on services included in their price package.

• Analyze their designing skills. Apart from market understanding and price, one should pay attention to the company’s design skills. E-commerce websites are totally user driven to get business and if your website fails to attract users then there are no chances of you getting any success. So one should always verify the company’s  e-commerce web design skills.

• Experience is the key to identify the company for your e-commerce website. Always look for a highly experienced company and choose the one that has a proven good track record in e-commerce development.

• Go through the testimonials and client reviews in order to identify company’s trustworthiness and time commitment. One should check their time management.

• Meet their developers and learn about their technical expertise and communication skills. If they can’t understand your requirements, you won’t be able to get what you want.

If you follow these handy tips for selecting an e-commerce website development company for your website, you will have better chances of succeeding in your business.