Top content writing tips for responsive website design
Content writing Website copywriting
If your website is more than a few years old the chances are that it is not a responsive website.
In other words, the site looks and acts the same on a tablet or mobile phone as it does on a PC.
The problem is that navigating and reading web content on a mobile device that is duplicated on a PC can be frustrating and difficult, particularly when the website has multiple pages and cumbersome navigation.
Over the last few years, there has been a widespread increase in the number of people accessing online content using their tablets or mobile phones. The freedom and flexibility mobile technology provides gives users more options to research whilst on the move: they could be checking out where to eat dinner whilst commuting to work or booking their holiday during a lunch break. Whilst this flexibility to research “on the go” is great news for businesses online, it’s important to make the content on a mobile phone look as good and as comprehensive as it does on a desktop PC so that people can find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.
From a web copywriting point of view, the major benefit in content writing for a responsive site is that content only needs to be written once and can then be delivered to any device. And because a responsive website design means that pages automatically adjust to whatever device they are being viewed from, no content is lost.
From a users viewpoint, the most significant change they will experience is that the content will be displayed differently; there’s no horizontal scroll bar, instead content will stack or collapse and users scroll up and down the screen to browse for information.
According to TC World magazine, responsive website design removes the technological restrictions of content, but clear writing still plays an important role with content considered the core component that responsive design is built on. Concise, well-written copy has universal device support and does wonders to improve the accessibility of the content to users.
With significant increases in web traffic and page views on mobile devices over the last few years, and the momentum continuing to build, the importance of ensuring your website looks good and reads well from a tablet or mobile cannot be ignored. What’s also important for business owners is that Google loves responsive content which is great for SEO because delivering responsive content can improve your site’s page ranking.
If you are responsible for content writing on your website or you have a copywriter that does this for you, here are a few tips to follow to ensure that content on your mobile device works equally as well on your PC or tablet:-
- keep image sizes small; large file sizes increase load time which could result in impatient users quickly leaving your site
- write concisely; keep content tight, clear and well structured but not too brief to the point that users can’t find what they’re looking for
- structure is important; get your pages and headings right, ensuring everything is displayed in the right order
- improve navigation so users don’t hit the back button and navigate away from content
- make links easier to use; avoid including multiple links within the same paragraph as this makes them harder to select on smaller devices
- streamline table of contents and numbered/bullet lists to make it easier for users to move around your site and find what they’re looking for.
Take a look at the following responsive websites for some of our clients – they look great viewed on a PC, tablet or mobile phone:-
Purple Chameleon Communications is also a responsive design!
The article in TC World magazine contains more information on the topic of content writing for responsive websites. Click here to read it in full. If you need help with content writing for your website so that it is responsive across all devices, send a message via the Contact page.