What Is Responsive Design and Why Does It Matter?

Responsive design means your website changes its layout to fit the screen it is shown on. On a phone, the page is narrow and easy to scroll. On a computer, it uses the extra space.

Why it matters

Many people now visit websites on their phones. If your page is tiny, hard to read or needs zooming, they will leave quickly.

Google also looks at how a site works on mobile devices. A site that is easy to use on a phone has a better chance to be understood and shown properly.

What a responsive website does

• Text is big enough to read without zooming.
• Buttons are easy to tap with a thumb.
• Images fit the screen and do not overflow.
• Menus turn into a simple button on small screens.
• Nothing slides sideways.

How to test your website

1. Open your site on your own phone.
2. Turn the phone sideways and back again.
3. Try to tap every button and link.
4. Look at it on another phone or a tablet if you can.
5. On a computer, make the browser window narrow and see how the page changes.

If something looks broken, tell your designer. It is a normal request.

Common problems

• Menus that are too small to tap.
• Big images that make the page slow. Our speed guide explains how to fix this.
• Text that is too light or too small.
• Pop-ups that cover the whole screen.

In short

Always ask your designer to build for phones first. This is called a mobile-first approach, and it is how SaraTech builds every site.