Why does my website need responsive web design?
With advancement in technology, a lot of people now spend more time with their tablets and smartphones. Most of the tasks that could only be done on the desktop in time past such as checking emails, online shopping and browsing social media outlets are now being carried out on mobile devices. This makes it clear that the use of mobile devices is taking over. As a result of this, it is imperative that you design a website that can be logged on to, on a mobile device. And at the same time, you also have to make sure that the website is also accessible on the desktop. Some resolve to have a website designed for mobile devices and another website for desktop users. But this seems stressful, right? But you do not have to go through such stress. There is a way you can have a website that is both mobile friendly and desktop friendly. This is referred to as Responsive Web Design. But before we go on to why your website needs responsive web design, we will like to introduce you to what a responsive web design is.
What is responsive web design?
Having a responsive web design on your website just means constructing your website in a way that the content stays intact and remains the same on a desktop computer and mobile internet devices. It saves you the stress of having separate websites for different devices. For instance, when you view on a desktop computer a website with a responsive web design the content displays well, and when it is viewed on a mobile device, the content retracts and fits into the screen of the mobile device.
Why your website needs a responsive web design?
There are lots of reasons why your website needs a responsive web design. Some of the reasons are as follows:
It is recommended by Google
As a matter of fact, Google has claimed about 67 percent of the search market share as at 2013. This has made it the most used search engine all over the world. In other words, if you want your website to be one of the websites that are widely visited by people, you should take to a responsive web design as it is recommended by Google. Are you wondering why Google prefers a responsive web design? If yes, it is mainly because with a responsive web design, a website gets to have only a single URL. And with a single URL, people can access the website on various devices and have the same view of the content.
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It gives the users a better experience
We have discussed a little about this before. It is one of the primary reasons why Google has recommended the use of a responsive web design for websites. The use of a responsive web design gives the users a better experience. For instance, when a user is visiting a website on a small mobile device, he/she does not have to zoom the content of the website. Instead, the content of the website simply adjusts to the screen size of the device.
It can increase the conversion rates
Apart from other benefits of making use of a responsive web design such as offering the users a better experience, the ease of navigation, and so on, the use of a responsive web design gives you the chance to be able to increase the conversion rate from various devices. Are you wondering why? This is because if users cannot view a web page on their mobile devices, the users won't be able to convert. Furthermore, the developers now have on how the conversion elements can now be displayed on mobile devices since a responsive web design can fit into any screen size.
Also, with the use of a responsive web design, you can carry out necessary A/B testing and high-end heat mapping. They can be done via software like Optimizely. It means that you will be able to classify the users with their mobile devices and have a better idea of what interest the users on your website. With this, you can come up with better and more efficient sale strategies.
It helps you stay ahead of competition
Competition is becoming very intense in the business world. And a lot of people now access the internet through their mobile devices. Due to this, for you to have the edge over others, you should make sure that you have a responsive web design to cater for your website visitors. Also, this will also help you increase the average number of people that visit your website per day. And your competitors that do not have a responsive web design will lose some of their potential users, and you have the opportunity of gaining more users.
It is easier to manage
Take a look at the SEO for a moment; in a situation where you have two different websites, you will have to run different SEO campaign for each website, so as to satisfy the desktop computer and the mobile device users. This will be quite difficult for you to cope with. And you will probably need an extra worker to run an SEO campaign on one of the websites while you run the other. But when you make use of a responsive web design, you do not have to run different SEO campaigns since the same content can fit into both desktop computer and mobile screens. Don't you think that will be easier? Of course, it will.
Increase in mobile usage
In old times, most people make use of computers. Hence, most websites are designed to be only viewed with a desktop computer. But nowadays, the rate at which people make use of mobile devices has significantly increased. Therefore, you should consider satisfying both the desktop users and the mobile device users. The best way to go about this is to make use of the responsive web design for your website.
Conclusion
You cannot rule out the need for a responsive web design for your website. It has a lot of positive impacts on your website. Some of the reasons why your website needs a responsive web design have been discussed above. Good Luck!
Thirumalesh Prasad C G (Thiru) is an entrepreneur, Founder, and CEO of Inboundsys. He has over 22 years of experience working for various multinational IT products and services companies in India and abroad. He was a significant member and worked as a user interface architect, designing the user interface for many web applications and products. In addition to running Inboundsys, he is an advisory board member in various other design studios and digital marketing agencies. He is a passionate blogger who loves writing on digital marketing, inbound marketing, lifestyle, philosophy, positive thinking, and motivation.