Anyone who is active on the web has certainly come across the terms SEO and positioning, which distinguish on-page and off-page activities aimed at optimising a website which is supposed to translate into a better rating by search engine bots. This is, of course, supposed to result in a higher position in the SERPs. Since the first quarter of 2015, Google's algorithm has also been evaluating sites in terms of RWD. What does this mean?
RWD - what does it mean?
RWD (responsive web design) is a technology for designing responsive websites that, through a single implementation, are adapted to the different size screens they are to be displayed on. If your website is responsive, its design and functions are adapted to larger computer screens and different screen sizes of mobile devices (tablets, smartphones).
Responsive web design works through media queries that recognise the size of the browser window and style sheet or through JavaScript scripts.
Responsive website = readability. A responsive website adapts to the device and no matter where it is displayed, it is comfortable to use. A RWD website is easily accessible to all web users and displays appropriately on tablet, smartphone and computer screens. It is also worth noting that it is much more cost-effective from an economic point of view to maintain one site than to host a standard and mobile version. 
How do I check whether a website is responsive?
Nowadays, creating websites using RWD technology is standard. For more than a decade, we have been accessing the web increasingly via smartphones. IT pioneers are well aware of the growing importance of mobile traffic. This has resulted, for example, in changes to Google's algorithm by implementing new components - Mobilegeddon - which check whether a website is adapted to mobile devices. RWD websites meet this requirement.
How do you check if a website is responsive? The easiest way is to display it on different devices, e.g. a computer and a smartphone. However, it is best to perform a mobile optimisation test using Google Search Console, a dedicated tool for this purpose.
There are also many paid tools on the market designed to test a website for RWD. You can also check your website from within your browser. If you are using Chrome, simply right-click and select "Examine" in the dialogue box. In Firefox, use the ctrl+shift+m shortcut to do this.
How to create a website based on RWD - top tips
When designing a website using RWD technology, there are a few important elements to bear in mind:
- Appropriate font size - the size of the letters in the text must be neither too large - this will look bad on small screens - nor too small - the text will be unreadable on large screens.
- Size of elements - objects such as buttons or drop-down menus must not be too small. Each button should be easy to hit with the finger and click with the mouse cursor.
- Responsive graphics - i.e. graphics that load faster and are better scalable. Ideally, graphics (images not) should be in SVG format. You can also use formats such as.JPG and .PNG.
RWD websites are user-friendly and ranked higher by Google's algorithm. If we want to slightly increase our chances of displaying the website on the first page of search results, an optimised website that displays readable content not only on desktop but also on smartphones should be implemented as soon as possible.
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