Responsive web design is an approach to web design, that allows desktop webpages to be viewed in response to the size of the device one is viewing with. This means that the content you are viewing should look the same on your desktop computer, laptop, tablet and smartphone. If you don’t understand why you need a responsive website, check out a few tips that explain how a responsive website could be the best approach for your business.
1. People have gone mobile
Just a few short years ago, we saw a shift in how the average user accesses the internet. In 2015, the average time a user spent on the internet on a mobile device has jumped up to 2.8 hours out of 5.6 hours. That makes a total of 51% of time online is spent on a mobile device. As this trend continues to rise, it is important to meet the needs of your website visitors. If your site is not displaying properly on mobile devices, you are not providing a positive experience for your audience.
2. Provide users the best possible experience
One way to provide the best experience for a user, is to ensure that they are familiar with your site. Navigating the layout of your page should be consistent, regardless of users going from mobile to desktop. By building a responsive site, you don’t have to worry about different devices changing the overall experience for your users.
3. Save time
When you build a responsive website, you won’t have to worry about building and maintaining different websites for mobile and desktop. When you need to make updates, they will only need to be made on a single platform. This eliminates the worry of forgetting to make the changes on more than one site.
4. Search engines prefer responsive
In many studies experts have found that responsive websites rank better than similar non-responsive sites. You want people to find you online quick and easy right? By building a responsive website, you will be helping the major search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing direct traffic to you. This makes your chance of getting conversions substantially higher.
5. Save Money
Piggy backing on saving time, you also save money! It may be a bit more expensive up front to hire an expert designer to build your site, but it will mean less time and money spent in the long term. Updates to only one site, instead of across multiple platforms, significantly brings down the costs of website maintenance.
