You’ve probably heard the term ‘responsive web design’ before. But what is it and how does it apply to you?
If your company’s website was designed for desktop computer monitors without taking responsiveness into consideration, it doesn’t fit on a small screen. Rather than try to navigate your website on their phone, your prospective customers usually hit the back button and choose your competitor’s website.
Responsive web design prevents this loss because your website displays equally well on any size device. This can lead to substantial revenue gains.
It’s important to know that over 50% of all Internet searches are done on mobile devices, whether smartphones or tablets. Equally important is that over 80% of internet users who search a company on Google will visit the company’s website with the interest or intent to make a purchase.
What is Responsive Web Design?
Responsive web design (RWD) creates a system for a single site to react to the size of a user’s device—with one URL and one content source. A responsive website has a fluid and flexible layout which adjusts according to screen size.
The importance of responsive website design is that it offers an optimized browsing experience.
Basically, your website will look great and work well on any device – a desktop, a tablet, or a mobile phone’s browser.
With the Google algorithm update, a responsive web design increases visibility on search engines—because it is mobile-friendly. A site with an effective mobile experience will rank higher in search results than one without.
Google likes responsive websites for a number of reasons. Firstly, responsive design websites have one URL (and the same HTML) irrespective of a device, which makes it more efficient for Google to index your website. Secondly, it is much easier for users to share content that is located on one URL. Lastly, if you have a single responsive website instead of separate desktop and mobile versions, you can avoid the issue of duplicate content and, as a result, the negative impact on your search rankings.
Obviously, managing one resource will take less time and cost less. Besides, you can easily and quickly make any changes to the website through multiple devices.
In Summary
Having a mobile version of your website is a must these days. It’s no longer a nice-to-have feature, people expect it. And creating one using responsive web design is the easiest and most beneficial way to do so. It improves the user experience, it’s cheaper and easier to manage, and it can even improve your SEO.
Read more at our Small Business Resource Center
If you have questions or would like a quote on a new website, please contact us today. We’d love to talk with you to learn about your current needs and explore how we can add value to your business.
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