What is responsive web design?
Responsive web design is an approach for building websites that provides the reader with an optimal viewing experience no matter what size screen it is being viewed on. It adapts the layout to the size of the screens. The web page “responds to” or resizes itself depending on the type of device it is displayed on.
What is responsive web design?
Responsive web design is an approach for building websites that provides the reader with an optimal viewing experience no matter what size screen it is being viewed on. It adapts the layout to the size of the screens. The web page “responds to” or resizes itself depending on the type of device it is displayed on. It allows your site to look good, with easy reading and minimum resizing, panning, and scrolling, across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones). It can adapt to a desktop monitor, a laptop of any screen size, a 7-inch tablet, or a smartphone screen. Mashable even called 2013 the Year of Responsive Web Design.
Why do you need a responsive medical website now?
As doctors and other healthcare professionals use more devices with varying screen sizes to access the internet, it is crucial that your website be compatible with these devices. Once you implement a responsive design, you do not need to build a specific website for each device. Just look at the latest industry statistics about how physicians use mobile devices to access healthcare information. Physicians access the internet to learn about new medical advancements and technologies, and it is imperative that your information be displayed clearly in every format and on every possible device:
- 43 percent of doctors use mobiles for clinical purposes
- 3 in 4 physicians are using tablets
- 31 percent of doctors make Rx decisions from smartphones
How does responsive design work?
I am no technology expert but from what I gather, responsive sites use grids that are fluid. What this means is that all elements on the page are sized by proportion rather than pixels. If, for instance, you have three columns on your page, you will not have to define its exact width but rather its proportion to the other column, as a percentage. So perhaps 50% for the first column, 25% for the second and third. Would you like to read more? See this article on Mashable.
How do I know if my site is responsive?
Knowing if your site is responsive is easy. Just click on the bottom right of the pane of your browser. Hold the mouse down and drag to resize the screen. If the elements on your site are realigned to accommodate for the changes in the screen’s dimensions, then congratulations, your site is responsive. If following screen resizing you see the images are static and you need to scroll horizontally to see all the information, your site is built on technology that is reaching redundancy. Another way, of course, is to check if your site is responsive by the way it looks on a mobile phone or tablet. You will know immediately.
There are a few reasons your medical site must have a responsive design:
- Stay ahead of the competition – Most companies in the medical space have not yet shifted their sites to use newer display technologies. This will give you an edge when your prospects visit your site.
- Optimize your visitors experience – Your visitor will be able to focus on your products and content rather than being annoyed with endless scrolling, images being cut off, etc. This is part of the good impression your product or medical company should make.
- Improve your websites ranking – Google has mentioned that it favors responsive web design since it cares about the user experience.
- Responsive builds are highly cost effective – You do not need to have a separate site for each display as you did in the past. Today once you build a responsive design, it changes the sizing every time you update in all display types.
But wait! Responsive design must be really expensive, right?
Well, wrong. At least it doesn’t have to be. We have been building template-based websites built on responsive technologies that are highly affordable. Check out Themeforest to see what they have on offer. I find them to be absolutely great. As I pointed out, if you build one now and integrate them in your medical devices marketing, doctors and partners will be grateful later.
The post A Responsive Site? You Need One Now So Doctors Will Thank You Later appeared first on CadenSee Medical Devices Marketing & Marcom by Chen Sirkis