In this article, we delve into What is a Responsive Website? A responsive website makes it easy for your website to be viewed across multiple devices such as smartphones, tablets, iPads and desktops, providing a seamless user experience across devices. A responsive website will adapt its resolution and page elements no matter what device it is being viewed on to fit the screen. This eliminates the need for zooming or spanning which is needed when a non-responsive website is being viewed. Without a responsive website your website page elements may not load correctly and aspects of a website design may not be included in the display especially when it is accessed on mobile devices or tablet devices.
Why is having a responsive website important?
Without any type of responsive design for your website you could be missing out on a massive portion of the market that only access the web on tablets and through mobile browsers. It is a fact that more and more people are accessing the internet and websites using a mobile device. In fact, according to Google, in the past two years, smartphone adoption in the US has grown from 36% to 61%.
Catering to the Mobile Consumer.
Catering to the mobile consumer is critical to the success of businesses who experience a considerable percentage of mobile visitors. According to Google, “All brands need to think deeply about what it means to serve mobile customers. The temptation to adapt to a desktop strategy to fit mobile can be strong, but should be avoided.”
What are the benefits of having a responsive website?
1. Create a more positive user experience: responsive website design ensures that your website will provide a consistent user experience across all devices catering to the needs of your mobile customers. This will reduce website abandonment on mobile devices and make it easier for users to access your content, navigate your website and ultimately help you to increase leads and sales.
2. Better search engine rankings: Google has made mobile friendliness a major ranking factor when it comes to organic results and search engine optimization. They have also stated emphatically that they prefer a responsive design over a separate mobile website. This means that designing your website with a responsive design could help you capture top search engine results.
3. Responsive web design will also be compatible with future devices: new devices are coming out almost every month. A responsive website helps you to cater to future developments in technology. This ensures that your webpage can always be accessed as new devices are introduced to the market. Think the Apple watch, Smart TV’s and GPS.