Web Design – SLINKY https://slinky.au Digital Marketing & Design Agency Sun, 15 Dec 2024 03:27:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://slinky.au/wp-content/uploads/cropped-SLINKY-square-logo-large-32x32.jpg Web Design – SLINKY https://slinky.au 32 32 Reasons Why Responsive Web Design is Crucial for Your Business https://slinky.au/blog/web-design/reasons-why-responsive-web-design-is-crucial-for-your-business/ Thu, 03 Oct 2024 07:35:47 +0000 https://slinky.au/?p=29958 Did you know that more than half of the world’s population uses mobile phones. Do you know what that implies? It means that, by October 2024,  5.4 billion people had access to the Internet. And this number keeps rising.

What is the implication of this for your website? Well, only one thing. Your website’s responsiveness is no longer an option, it is a necessity. Responsive web design is critical now more than ever. It must be well-optimised to function efficiently across all devices, whether desktop, laptop, or mobile.

In the first place, what is the idea of responsive web design all about? How significant is it? And what are the best ways to identify responsive websites? We provide answers to these questions and more in this article.

Let’s get started.

What is Responsive Design?

Responsive Web Design is an approach to website development that amplifies the significance of adapting to the user’s behaviour and environment.

A responsive website delivers a top-notch experience to users irrespective of the device they are using to access the site. It considers factors like the size of the screen and the platform. It also looks at the orientation of the device being used.

For instance, we spoke about the popularity of mobile devices in internet browsing earlier, it would interest you to know that over 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. Read More

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Did you know that more than half of the world’s population uses mobile phones. Do you know what that implies? It means that, by October 2024,  5.4 billion people had access to the Internet. And this number keeps rising.

What is the implication of this for your website? Well, only one thing. Your website’s responsiveness is no longer an option, it is a necessity. Responsive web design is critical now more than ever. It must be well-optimised to function efficiently across all devices, whether desktop, laptop, or mobile.

In the first place, what is the idea of responsive web design all about? How significant is it? And what are the best ways to identify responsive websites? We provide answers to these questions and more in this article.

Let’s get started.

What is Responsive Design?

Responsive Web Design is an approach to website development that amplifies the significance of adapting to the user’s behaviour and environment.

A responsive website delivers a top-notch experience to users irrespective of the device they are using to access the site. It considers factors like the size of the screen and the platform. It also looks at the orientation of the device being used.

For instance, we spoke about the popularity of mobile devices in internet browsing earlier, it would interest you to know that over 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. So, how optimised is your website for both mobile devices and desktops?

Responsiveness As A Page Experience Signal

Mobile-friendliness is one of the core elements that Google calls page experience signals. In SEO indexing, Google uses these signals to assign value to a website based on the experience of the visitor.

Other page experience signals include;

  • Core web vitals
  • HTTPS
  • Safe browsing

If Google uses responsiveness to evaluate user experience (UX) of a website, that should tell you how important it is.

Luckily, Google itself has a tool for checking responsiveness among other elements. It’s called Lighthouse. Follow the guidelines outlined on that page to test your website.

How Bad Is Unresponsive Web Design?

Consider the following statistics;

The intention is not to scare you if your website is unresponsive. Rather, it’s to show you the urgency at which you need to look into responsive web design.

A responsive website is a non-negotiable for a business owner who needs to close potential leads in a highly competitive market. If you do not give it the right attention, you will be limiting the growth and success of your business.

Apart from that, non-responsive sites are usually penalised by search engines and this can negatively affect your SEO ranking.

SEO here stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It is what determines the online visibility of your business website. So, it’s not just about having a website. It is about having a website that is responsive and optimised for SEO.

Benefits of Responsive Web Design for Businesses

Here are 7 benefits you stand to gain with a responsive web design.

1.   Better User Experience (UX)

Responsive web design is all about user experience. In website design, user experience refers to the experience a user has when interacting with a website, whether positive or negative. A positive experience means that the user was able to achieve their goal without interruptions.

The main element of excellent design is the ability of the website to load correctly and fit the resolution and orientation of the screen. On the contrary, if your website is only optimised for desktop, it will be challenging to view on a mobile phone.

Navigation is another element of responsive design. This means that the website has an intuitive interface.

2.     Improved SEO Rankings

SEO has become more like a buzzword currently. Everyone talks about it. In SEO, ranking refers to the position your website occupies on the search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords or phrases.

Mobile responsiveness is a key factor in SEO rankings because Google uses mobile-first indexing. This means Google evaluates the mobile version of a website when determining its ranking.

Search engines have a positive outlook towards websites that provide a seamless experience across all devices. Of course, this is the core objective of responsive design. As you know, the higher your SEO ranking, the easier it is for your website to attract more traffic and increase its online visibility.

If a site is not mobile-friendly, users might experience poor functionality, which increases bounce rates and reduces time spent on the site. These are signals that search engines interpret as negative.

3.     Faster Load Time

In a previous section of this article, we saw that 60% of customers will leave a website if it loads more than 2 seconds. That’s right, you only get two seconds to make a good impression on a potential customer.

Responsive websites load more quickly on all platforms, but especially on smartphones and tablets. Why? Fluid grids and adaptable images. These reduce the loading time of websites.

Additionally, responsive sites only require one URL and a set of HTML codes. The streamlined approach of having one site instead of separate desktop and mobile sites, means that the site does not have to redirect users to different pages based on their device.

The faster load times can lead to better user engagement and a reduction in bounce rates.

People crave efficiency, especially when they are interacting with your brand for the first time. If they are trying to visit your pages and your website is either slow or redirecting them to pages other than what they are trying to access, it can cause user frustration.

4.     Increased Reach

In the context of website performance, reach refers to the total number of people who are exposed to your website or content. It measures how widely your content is distributed or accessible. Reach directly impacts your visibility in search engine rankings.

The reason why you will get experienced reach is the growing number of mobile device users. Gone are the days when everyone used to use computers for everything. Today, big purchases are made on the smartphone.

Therefore, if your website is responsive, your chances of getting more engagement with your websites increases. However, note that reach does not automatically translate to conversion. Still, it contributes to it.

5.     Higher Conversion Rates

Conversion rate is the percentage of users who take a desired action on your website out of the total number of visitors. These actions could include downloading a document, signing up, buying a product, or clicking a link.

It can be pretty frustrating if a customer is trying to add a product to their cart without success. Or if they are trying to check out other services on the website and the site isn’t responding. Don’t forget that today’s world is filled with technology-savvy and discerning customers. Trust us, you do not want to seem like a retrogressive brand to these prospects.

Here’s a scenario to help you understand how responsiveness affects conversion rates.

Let’s say for instance you offer landscaping services in Perth like one of our clients. A potential client got recommended to your services and they need your help urgently. When they’re waiting in line at the bank, they decide to open your website on their phone to book a service. But since your website is only optimised for desktop, they’re unable to clearly locate the “click to book now” button.

Do you think they will wait until they have access to a computer? Probably not. They will close your website and look for an alternative service provider. In this scenario, you lose a potential customer because your website is not optmised for mobile.

6.     It Gives You a Competitive Advantage

This point ties to the previous one.

Today’s business world is so competitive. If you want to make a successful name for your brand, you must adopt both conventional and innovative strategies that position your business as an industry leader.

Given this, having a responsive website is essential, or else you risk falling behind your competitors. With a responsive website, you will not only attract visitors but also retain them for longer. This inevitably boosts conversions and sales.

7.     Access to Better Analytics

This is another benefit of having a responsive website – you can easily track website performance across all devices. Any idea what this means for you? Here it is.

It means you can gather and analyse data from a wide variety of sources and platforms. This provides you with critical user behaviour insights. The more you understand how visitors interact with your website and what impacts their usage, the more ability you have to make decisions that enhance their overall experience and drive conversions.

Bonus Point

It is easier to maintain a single responsive website than separate desktop and mobile websites. Updating content, making code modifications, and testing is much simpler when working with only one website. This streamlined approach allows web developers to spend less time on maintenance and more time focusing on important tasks.

Key Takeaways

Responsive web design (RWD) is a web development approach that prioritizes adapting to user behavior and environment based on screen size, platform, and orientation. RWD uses a mix of flexible grids, images, and media queries to create websites that automatically adjust to the user’s device, eliminating the need for separate designs for different devices.

This is important because, with the increasing use of mobile devices for internet access, having a mobile-friendly website is crucial for reaching a wider audience and providing a positive user experience. RWD also offers several benefits, including improved SEO rankings, lower bounce rates, increased conversion rates, and cost-effectiveness.

Responsive Web Design Services You Can Trust

If you’re looking to build an affordable and responsive website that converts visitors, you’re in the right place. Contact us today to discuss your specific needs. We are always available to provide the answers you need and ensure that your website performs flawlessly across devices.

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Ensure Business Success With Responsive Web Design https://slinky.au/blog/web-design/business-success-responsive-web-design/ Thu, 17 Aug 2023 00:35:09 +0000 https://slinky.au/?p=30511 Responsive web design has emerged as the latest technique currently employed by web design professionals to ensure a better customer experience on a company website.

With the involvement of technology in providing new and creative approaches to improve the ways of promoting and projecting the offerings of a business online, responsive website design has successfully emerged as an effective means of providing engaging and attractive displays to draw customer attention.

The main features of responsive web design include adapting the design to the various sizes and screen resolutions of desktops and smartphones, providing the customers with a pleasing display. The fluid graphics ensure catchy and sharp images, and the highly sophisticated system program ensures an easy and enjoyable user experience, attracting and retaining a business’s customers to its website.

Companies who have integrated responsive web designs into their business websites enjoy sites with sharp screen resolutions that can easily be viewed on desktops and smartphones. Responsive web design opens up new dimensions and opportunities for businesses to penetrate more prominent and promising target markets online through tablets and mobile phones.

By reaching out to and penetrating new client markets, companies can expand their customer base and ensure an increase in sales, thus achieving their objectives. Read More

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Responsive web design has emerged as the latest technique currently employed by web design professionals to ensure a better customer experience on a company website.

With the involvement of technology in providing new and creative approaches to improve the ways of promoting and projecting the offerings of a business online, responsive website design has successfully emerged as an effective means of providing engaging and attractive displays to draw customer attention.

The main features of responsive web design include adapting the design to the various sizes and screen resolutions of desktops and smartphones, providing the customers with a pleasing display. The fluid graphics ensure catchy and sharp images, and the highly sophisticated system program ensures an easy and enjoyable user experience, attracting and retaining a business’s customers to its website.

Companies who have integrated responsive web designs into their business websites enjoy sites with sharp screen resolutions that can easily be viewed on desktops and smartphones. Responsive web design opens up new dimensions and opportunities for businesses to penetrate more prominent and promising target markets online through tablets and mobile phones.

By reaching out to and penetrating new client markets, companies can expand their customer base and ensure an increase in sales, thus achieving their objectives. You can easily derive all these incredible benefits for your business success, but you must ensure that experts in the field have employed the responsive web design services you incorporate. By using professionals with extensive experience in the area, you can be sure of providing your target market with an enjoyable user experience, which will increase the conversion rates for your services and attract mounting customer traffic.

As responsive web design ascertains the user’s easy access and use of a single website on tablets, desktops and smartphones, it is a cost-effective and time-efficient means of providing the customer market with a convenient approach to gaining information about the company offerings. Responsive web design also allows for easy tracking and monitoring of your business website’s user pattern and path, letting you utilize primary beneficial tools to develop a track report to monitor the client’s internet surfing patterns.

Search engine optimization methods are made more efficient with responsive web design, which directs customer traffic to the company website, ensuring increased probabilities of a rise in business sales.

All these benefits derived from using responsive web design in company websites ensure the success of a business in the industry.

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Web Design Strategies For Better Website Conversions https://slinky.au/blog/web-design/web-design-strategies-for-better-website-conversions/ Sat, 15 Apr 2023 07:51:02 +0000 https://slinky.au/?p=30355 One of the enormous benefits of excellent web design is that it can achieve many things for the business that owns the website being created.

What it can achieve will largely depend on the business’s goals and ambitions, which in turn dictates the remit it will have given to its web designers.

However, in most cases, when a business website is being designed, it should at least help to take visitors to the website closer to becoming customers of that business. How subtle or strongly the website does this will depend on the business type and how the business owners want their customers to follow their sales funnel.

That means that the overriding objective of the website’s design can range from turning a visitor into a prospect or lead by encouraging a call to the business or entering an email address in an opt-in form to them selecting a product, taking out their credit card, and making a purchase while they are on the website.

There can be other calls to action on a website; however, regardless of what they are, each is a conversion. In other words, the website has converted the person who landed on the website from a visitor to a paying customer or a least a prospect who has shown that they have an interest in the products and services that the business may offer. Read More

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One of the enormous benefits of excellent web design is that it can achieve many things for the business that owns the website being created.

What it can achieve will largely depend on the business’s goals and ambitions, which in turn dictates the remit it will have given to its web designers.

However, in most cases, when a business website is being designed, it should at least help to take visitors to the website closer to becoming customers of that business. How subtle or strongly the website does this will depend on the business type and how the business owners want their customers to follow their sales funnel.

That means that the overriding objective of the website’s design can range from turning a visitor into a prospect or lead by encouraging a call to the business or entering an email address in an opt-in form to them selecting a product, taking out their credit card, and making a purchase while they are on the website.

There can be other calls to action on a website; however, regardless of what they are, each is a conversion. In other words, the website has converted the person who landed on the website from a visitor to a paying customer or a least a prospect who has shown that they have an interest in the products and services that the business may offer.

As for how web design can enhance the conversion rates of a website, there are no fewer than seven web design strategies specifically geared towards that highly desirable business objective.

Optimise To Make The Website’s Load Speed As Fast As Possible

Unfortunately, too many poorly designed websites never get close to converting their visitors, and the worst of them fall at the first hurdle. By that, we mean that the website loads so slowly that many visitors click away before the website even opens on their browser.

Good web design will ensure that every element within a website is optimised for the fastest load speeds. By achieving this, not only will conversions rise because visitors will remain on the website for longer, but it is also noted by Google, which can boost a website’s search engine rankings.

Ensure All Visual Content Is Of The Highest -Quality

First impressions count for everything regarding website conversion, and assuming the page loads quickly, the first thing visitors will see is the visual appearance of the website rather than any of the text content. This is where your web designer uses their skills and experience to create a layout for your website that has instant appeal.

In addition, visual elements and content such as infographics, images, and videos also need to be high-quality and optimised to build the enthusiasm of visitors who come to your website.

Streamline Website Navigation

Sadly, poor navigation is one of the most frustrating and all too common web design mistakes. A website can have huge visual appeal, great content, and a fantastic value proposition, but poor navigation on that website can negate all of those positives.

Not every visitor to your website will have been there before, so you want to make it as easy as possible for them to find their way around it. This objective is achieved by ensuring your website’s design has a menu system that is easy to understand and allows easy movement between your website’s pages.

Have A Distinct And Compelling Value Proposition

We are often amazed when a website owner asks why their website is not converting, only for us to find that what they offer on that website has little appeal and does nothing to enthuse anyone who might be there.

The value proposition you present on your website must stand out and grab your prospects’ attention, like a retailer will have an in-store proposition that makes shoppers stop. Speak of benefits rather than features so your website visitors know what your offer can do for them.

Create A Call To Action (CTA) That Is Unambiguous And Can Be Seen

So far, so good. You now have a web design that has given you a fast-loading website, looks great, has easy navigation, and has a fantastic value proposition, so now what? How about asking your visitors to take action that takes them further along your sales funnel?

You make this happen by having a compelling call to action that almost forces, in the nicest way possible way, your website’s visitors to act. Whether that CTA is to buy, call, or submit their email, ensure it is visible and not confusing.

Maximise Your Audience With An Accessible Website

If your redesign has everything in place to promote a high conversion rate, then to maximise the number of conversions your website has, you want the maximum number of visitors and for them to have a great experience being there.

For visitors who have disabilities related to their sight, hearing, or hand movements, many websites make that difficult to impossible. However, you can accommodate them by having an accessible website design that incorporates features such as large fonts, voice controls, and captions for videos, for example.

Give Visitors The Most Personalised Experience Possible

To take your website design to the maximum and provide your users with an experience that wows them, which of course, should lead to more conversions, you should include web design elements that provide a personalised experience.

One option is dynamic content which will create different messaging, images, and options based on their actions and behaviour while on your website. Another strategy is tracking and analytics to create personalised recommendations and content for those visiting your website.

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How Important Is Good Website Design For Business Success https://slinky.au/blog/web-design/how-important-is-good-website-design-for-business-success/ Sat, 10 Nov 2018 04:18:46 +0000 https://slinky.au/?p=30501 In this current period of excessive internet use, any company which does not have a business website is most likely to become obsolete within a matter of days!

This is not an exaggeration, but a statement based on facts, after considering the trend in the customer market of being active on the internet regularly.

The constantly rising internet usage trend among the target market has prompted most companies to opt for a website that promises a solid online presence for their business.

In some quarters, a significant shift in market behaviour has revealed that mobile websites are the new trend in the market, which makes it essential for a company to have an expertly designed responsive website that can be easily viewed through desktops and smartphones.

A professionally designed business website is the key to attracting target market attention and ensuring that potential clients are successfully converted into actual customers. An engaging and attractive website design that provides user-friendly features can significantly impact a company’s sales and subsequent growth.

A business website that is difficult to operate requires a long loading time and is not engaging and informative; it will indeed be avoided and neglected by potential customers.

With the limited attention span of the client market, it has become essential for businesses to capitalize on their opportunities to draw the attention of their customers, making a professional website design a necessity for their business success. Read More

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In this current period of excessive internet use, any company which does not have a business website is most likely to become obsolete within a matter of days!

This is not an exaggeration, but a statement based on facts, after considering the trend in the customer market of being active on the internet regularly.

The constantly rising internet usage trend among the target market has prompted most companies to opt for a website that promises a solid online presence for their business.

In some quarters, a significant shift in market behaviour has revealed that mobile websites are the new trend in the market, which makes it essential for a company to have an expertly designed responsive website that can be easily viewed through desktops and smartphones.

A professionally designed business website is the key to attracting target market attention and ensuring that potential clients are successfully converted into actual customers. An engaging and attractive website design that provides user-friendly features can significantly impact a company’s sales and subsequent growth.

A business website that is difficult to operate requires a long loading time and is not engaging and informative; it will indeed be avoided and neglected by potential customers.

With the limited attention span of the client market, it has become essential for businesses to capitalize on their opportunities to draw the attention of their customers, making a professional website design a necessity for their business success.

The displayed content on the company website must also be expertly crafted to convince your customers about the offered benefits of your products and services.

Your business website can serve as your competitive advantage in the industry, drawing potential customers by the crowd and successfully converting them into real-time clients who can recommend your services to their families and friends.

As your website serves as your company’s initial projection, it is essential to ensure that it is captivating enough and professionally crafted to display an expert image of your business.

Your company might offer the best services in the market. Still, if the business website features are not user-friendly and the design is not professional, you risk losing important clientele.

All time, effort and money would be wasted with no success in achieving the desired goals, which makes it vital for a business to employ the services of experts in the market to utilize this feature to their advantage.

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Top Tips For Optimizing Images On Your WordPress Site https://slinky.au/blog/web-design/top-tips-for-optimizing-images-on-your-wordpress-site/ Sun, 08 Feb 2015 01:23:16 +0000 https://slinky.au/?p=30362 If you’re building a new WordPress website, you need to think carefully about the type of content you include and how it’s presented.

For example, adding images to your WordPress website is a great way of boosting the user experience, but you need to make sure that they’re well-optimized.

Poorly optimized images can result in slow website speeds, a poor SEO score, and a high visitor bounce rate. With this in mind, I decided to put together this list of the best ways to optimize images for your WordPress website.

1. Make Sure Your Images Are Compressed

It’s extremely important to make sure that your images aren’t too large, otherwise they will take up too much server space and will take too long to load. I always recommend compressing your images before you upload them to your WordPress site, because this is simply the easiest option.

On the other hand, there are options if you want to compress images that are already on your website. The best thing to do here is to install an image compression plugin which you can use to optimize all of your picture files.

2. Name Your Pictures Correctly

Unfortunately, a lot of people upload images to their website with generic names that don’t mean anything. Read More

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If you’re building a new WordPress website, you need to think carefully about the type of content you include and how it’s presented.

For example, adding images to your WordPress website is a great way of boosting the user experience, but you need to make sure that they’re well-optimized.

Poorly optimized images can result in slow website speeds, a poor SEO score, and a high visitor bounce rate. With this in mind, I decided to put together this list of the best ways to optimize images for your WordPress website.

1. Make Sure Your Images Are Compressed

It’s extremely important to make sure that your images aren’t too large, otherwise they will take up too much server space and will take too long to load. I always recommend compressing your images before you upload them to your WordPress site, because this is simply the easiest option.

On the other hand, there are options if you want to compress images that are already on your website. The best thing to do here is to install an image compression plugin which you can use to optimize all of your picture files.

2. Name Your Pictures Correctly

Unfortunately, a lot of people upload images to their website with generic names that don’t mean anything. You shouldn’t ever do this.

Basically, your image names play a large role in image SEO. It’s therefore very important to make sure that you name your pictures with descriptive titles that include relevant keywords.

3.Use Alt Tags

Similarly, alt tags also present a great SEO opportunity. On the surface, alt tags are designed to provide information about an image for those who are visually impaired or who decide not to load images for some reason.

However, alt tags are also scraped by search engine bots and used for SEO. It’s, therefore, important to write high-quality, descriptive alt texts that are slightly different to your image titles.

4.Integrate ‘Lazy Loading’ 

One great way to reduce the load time of pages or blog posts with a lot of image content is to use a technique known as lazy loading. This technique involves using a plugin that only loads images when people scroll down to view them. This means that only the top portion of each page is loaded initially, significantly reducing load times and improving the visitor experience.

5.Make Sure You Include The Right Sized Images

When you insert pictures into your posts or page content, it’s important to make sure that you’re using the right size. If you only need a small image, then only insert a small image. Similarly, make sure that you’re using high enough resolutions for important or very detailed images.

Final Word

If you want to build the best WordPress website possible, you need to make sure that your images are optimized. There are numerous ways to do this, but the most important things are to compress your image files, add descriptive names and alt texts, and integrate lazy loading.

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