Responsive website design has become the new norm of any website design. PCs or desktops used to be the channel to the virtual world, but modern advancement of mobile devices have enabled consumers and businessmen alike to shop, order, read, work and access online information from the comfort of their phones.
As mobile traffic continues to dominate, website owners are re-thinking website design strategies and tailoring their design to a screen that may be as small as four inches. But website owners are not the only ones interested in a responsive website design. Web designers and web developers are also fine-tuning their coding skills to accommodate market demands.
Taking Responsive Website Design to SharePoint
As one of the largest corporations that supplies quality computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers, and services to the market, Microsoft Corporation has streamlined business practices with sound technological solutions. Of its many accomplishments, SharePoint is Microsoft’s premier web application platform that enables both employers and employees to communicate and collaborate with greater efficiency.
Put plainly, SharePoint is a Microsoft interface for network sharing and cloud technology. You can upload files to the data base, connect with colleagues, and review documents all from a single platform. Yet, when it comes to designing a SharePoint site, most companies are focusing too much on background development and aesthetics and neglecting end-user experience. So here are some best practices you should implement next time you tackle a SharePoint web development project:
Understand Your Audience & Purpose
When it comes to designing a responsive SharePoint site, keeping your audience and purpose in mind is the best way to start. You already know that you want a web design that reacts and responses seamlessly to all screen sizes. What you need now is to develop content (words and images) and make them accessible (easy to read) and beautiful. Presenting the right information involves having enough content to get your target audience to take the actions you want.
As Business-Agility shares, “You need to think holistically about what your business is trying to accomplish…” Find out how your SharePoint site is going to support your business objectives and design around those goals.
Optimized for Performance
Besides designing your SharePoint site around your audience and users, making sure your website performs well is another key to a great surfing experience. Speed matters. As CopyBlogger explains, “The speed of your site affects every metric you care about: Bounce rate. Search ranking. Conversion. Page views. Reader satisfaction. Even revenue.”
Ensuring that your website is performing its best means that your user can access the content or information they need with the least amount of time and effort. This means avoiding using too many high resolution images, cutting down on the use of custom web fonts, and staying clear of fancy scripts that will infringe with load time.
Integrating the Touch Interface
User engagement prior to the development of touch interface meant having great content and an irresistible Call-To-Action; however, user engagement today means giving users the control to swipe and click on the screen. Because the goal of your responsive SharePoint site is to enhance your users’ mobile experience, the touch interface is an aspect you do not want to miss. By integrating the familiar finger movement and screen interaction, you can create a new and improved mobile browser experience that will keep your audience engaged throughout.
So design in a way that responsive and responsible. It’s time to embrace the mobile world and find that happy balance between your brand uniqueness and your niche market.