Almost every website being designed and developed these days is done so in a responsive design framework. This is a great start to making the internet a more mobile-friendly environment, but the downside is not every website properly utilizes their responsive design framework.
When was the last time you were on a website on your phone and saw a horizontal scrollbar? How about an image or video that broke outside the width of the screen, only allowing you to see the left half of the video? These are examples of responsive websites with design issues that weren’t addressed during their initial development, or simply never quality checked after a recent content update.
Our guide to the top 50 mobile-friendly websites is here to help you create an exceptional mobile experience for your visitors. Our team of experts has carefully evaluated the best mobile-friendly sites, taking into account factors such as design, functionality, uniqueness, and user experience. From responsive designs to effortless navigation, these sites embody excellence in the mobile world. Not only will you find inspiration for your own website, but also valuable tips on how to optimize your website for mobile devices and provide a seamless experience for your visitors. So, get ready to elevate your website’s mobile experience with the help of this guide, and create an online experience that meets the needs of your mobile visitors! For examples within other industries, head back to our best web designers article!
Top Mobile-Friendly Website Designs
1. Fergus
2. Cheetos
3. Squaredot
4. Krave Jerky
5. Klondike
6. Warby Parker
7. Mountain Dew
8. Shutterfly
9. Backcountry
10. Black Diamond
11. Zappos
12. Lululemon
13. Typeform
14. Adidas
15. Mint Mobile
16. ABC
17. CBS
18. Threadless
19. Etsy
20. LEGO Store
21. Beardbrand
22. Dominos
23. Wired
24. Elf on the Shelf
25. ilume
26. Kylie Skin
27. Lean Labs
28. Hestra Gloves
29. BuzzFeed
30. Patagonia
31. Slack
32. Ritual
33. Pipcorn
34. KFC
35. Evernote
36. Gym Shark
37. Inspod
38. Lyft
39. Daysie
40. Stripe
41. Huffington Post
42. Oakridge Park
43. Smart City
44. Purple
45. Galileo Health
46. Nationwide Insurance
47. StarWars
48. Atlassian
49. Trading.com
50. Square
Suggestions for Creating a Responsive Web Design
1.) Build for touchscreen functionality
Touchscreens are becoming more and more popular, so make sure that your site is optimized for them. One way to do this is to make sure all elements are large enough to be pressed with a finger. There’s nothing worse than trying to click on a tiny button without clicking on a completely different element.
2.) Decide which elements to hide on mobile devices
If your website is going to be viewed on a small screen, such as those found on smartphones, it’s important that you decide what elements should and shouldn’t be included.
For example, if your site has too many buttons or widgets taking up valuable space, it could make the content difficult to view. It would also be beneficial for you to use smaller font sizes so there can still be enough room for all of the text.
Once you decide upon a layout, you might then want to use a heatmap to tell you more about your website design. What you learn from your users’ behavior might really make you think about where some elements should go!
3.) Use a fluid design grid
Pixel-based layouts were once the standard for website design, but with large advances made in the technology space, designers now adopt a fluid grid.
A grid makes it quicker and easier to size things proportionally, instead of having to set every element to a different size. This means that you don’t have to worry about figuring out how many pixels one thing should be compared to the other when adjusting for screens of all sizes.
These grids often have a fluid layout with columns, which can be scaled. The width and height of the elements are not uniform, but they will change depending on the size of the screen.
4.) Determine image sizes that will work on all devices
Responsive web design can be a challenge, and one of the most difficult aspects is determining how to size images. Rules are set to determine how images should be handled on different screens. These rules can include the dimensions, positioning, and scaling of multimedia files.
When dealing with images, keep them as small and manageable as possible. Tools like TinyJPG can be used to reduce the image size while preserving quality during uploads.
5.) Decide which micro interactions to include
Micro-interactions are a trend that’s slowly coming into web design. They can make your website more interactive and engaging for the user by adding small features, such as hover effects or notifications to an otherwise static page. These animations are great for giving instant feedback to the visitor, which is great for those who use their mobile to browse online.
6.) Choose a responsive theme, if you can’t create a custom theme
If you’re not comfortable making a responsive website, then you can take advantage of the many themes available online. Your job will simply be to update colors, branding, and content – nice! You can customize your design as much or little as needed, without ever worrying about whether the website is responsive or not.
If you’re a WordPress user, responsive themes are right at your fingertips with plenty of free and paid options available.
Related: Check out this comparison of Free & Paid Portfolio Sites.
7.) Hire a professional web designer if you need help
You may find it impossible to locate a pre-designed theme that meets your needs or matches the company branding, especially if you are using something other than WordPress.
If you want an aesthetically pleasing site without any technical knowledge needed, and don’t have time to design every individual element by hand, try hiring a professional, (like the team at WebCitz!) to handle it for you!
If you want your website to look good on every device, be sure that the websites designer has a solid background in web design. If anything, this job demands higher quality work with prices reflecting as such – so don’t try cutting any corners!
FAQs about Web Development for Responsive Websites
Responsive design is when a website changes its layout based on the device or screen size that it’s being viewed from. If you are in the process of redesigning your website, you’ll want take into account the benefits of responsive design frameworks. This means that if someone goes to visit your site using their smartphone they will be able to view it in an optimized format so everything can still fit nicely onto one page. If you’re not confident with creating responsive websites yourself, consider hiring a professional who knows how to do this properly!
Responsive design is a great way to boost your website’s ranking on search engines. If you already have a site that isn’t mobile-friendly, then it might be time for an upgrade! Responsive web design is also more convenient and user-friendly since people don’t need to zoom in or turn their phones sideways just so they can read the content.
You will save money by using responsive design – we promise! There are actually many different services out there that allow businesses and individuals alike to create their own sites without having to hire someone first.
A responsive site uses code that responds dynamically depending upon what platform/device it is being viewed from. The website adapts and responds to the screen it is being viewed from.
Responsive sites look much better on mobile devices and will automatically resize and reformat content to fit smaller screens (which can be a nightmare for older websites).
This means that you only need one URL (web address) per page. There are no separate URLs like with a mobile site; rather, your content changes based on how it is being accessed by visitors at any given moment.
This makes browsing easier because there isn’t extra effort needed on behalf of your audience: clicking between two websites while trying to access information can get annoying fast.
However, the visual fidelity of responsive sites may not always compare well with that of dedicated mobile or desktop sites – which you might want in order to stand out!
If you’re interested in making a responsive website, check out these 6 effective tips on how to make a website responsive! They might be just what you need to make your website pop!
Mobile websites are specifically designed for viewing on small screens, such as those found on smartphones. Responsive design means that your site automatically changes based on whatever device or screen size it’s being viewed from – whether it’s an Android phone, iPhone, tablet PC, or something else entirely!
There are benefits to both types of websites, but responsive design is the more popular choice because it works on all devices and screen sizes, so there’s no need to build two completely separate sites.
We have a fantastic blog article if you want a deeper diver into the differences between mobile and responsive websites. Check out the link to learn more!
Responsive websites automatically change depending on what device they are being viewed from. There is no need to manually switch between websites. Instead, all of your content will be available and optimized for whatever screen size it’s being accessed by.
Creating a responsive site is fairly easy! It’s much easier than building an entirely separate mobile website, especially if you don’t need it to be adapted specifically to smartphones or tablets.
WordPress is a free website-building tool. It’s easy to use and can be used with a responsive design! In fact, it’s WordPress comes with hundreds of cool themes that look just as good on mobile as they do on desktop.
A mobile user agent is the type of software used by smartphones and tablets to let websites know what device they’re accessing from. This way, your site can properly adapt its content according to screen size!
Having both a mobile and dedicated website will cost more than owning just one – which means that you might be paying for something that your visitors simply don’t need.
Depending upon how many resources you’re willing to allocate towards this project, having two sites can also be fairly time-consuming. It’s better to avoid doing this if you don’t have the staff or bandwidth for it.