Design Responsively

Before we explain responsive web design, let’s take a look at some mobile web trend statistics. In 2012, mobile web browsing accounted for 30% of all web traffic. By 2014, it was estimated that mobile internet usage would grow to over 50%, thereby surpassing desktop and laptop internet usage. Now that 2015 is here, these figures are only expected to keep growing. What this means for you, is that if you don’t have a website that is optimized for viewing across ALL smart devices (such as mobile, tablet, desktop, etc) – then you are inevitably going to lose out on business. If your competitors are following and keeping up with these trends, then so should you. MOBILE-FIRST DESIGN Let’s go back in time a bit. Not long ago, websites were typically designed specifically for laptop and desktop screen resolutions. This worked fine until the advent of web capable smart phones and tablets. That’s when “Mobile First” designs, which predated “Responsive” designs, took over. In this case, web developers would have to design two separate websites – one for a desktop and one for mobile devices. The problem with this approach is that there are so many new gadgets coming out each year, that you couldn’t possibly hire a web developer to design for each and every one of these devices, thereby not making it a cost-effective solution.

By 2014, it was estimated that mobile internet usage would grow to over 50%, thereby SURPASSING desktop and laptop internet usage.

RESPONSIVE DESIGN This is where Responsive Web Design comes in. A responsive design simply means a website that has been constructed so that all of the content, images and structure of the site remain the same on any device. For example, when a user accesses a site on their desktop, they are getting the full view of the site. But when that same user goes to visit the site from their smartphone or tablet, the site will retract to fit on the smaller screen. In other words, with a responsive website design, you don’t have to have worry about having different websites for various devices or making sure that your site runs properly on a mobile device. THE DIFFERENCE So you think just because you can pull up your site on your phone means that it is mobile and/or responsive? Wrong. If you don’t have either a mobile version of your site or a responsive design, more than likely you have to zoom in and out in order to be able to see all of your website’s contents. Responsive websites on the other hand adjust the structure, content and images to your specific browser’s size and setting without you having to scroll or pan so that it is compatible with all devices, not just mobile phones. Another crucial advantage to take note of, is that Google ranks responsive websites higher in its search engines! This is because with responsive design, all sites have just one URL and the same HTML across all devices as opposed to two, as in mobile-first designs. So with responsive design, it’s more efficient for Google to bot crawl the site and then index and organize all the content that is online. The problem with mobile sites is that there are two versions of your website, one for mobile and one for desktop, which forces Google to crawl and index multiple versions of the same exact site. This is more work for Google, of course – and for this reason, Google does not favor duplicates which means that your site will have a lower chance of showing up in its search results.  Furthermore, when there is just one website and URL, it’s much easier for users to share, engage and interact with the content on that site as compared to a site that has different pages for mobile and desktop users.

With a responsive website design, you don’t have to worry about having different websites for various devices or making sure that your site runs properly on a mobile device.

IN CONCLUSION: WHY GO RESPONSIVE?

1. Mobile Usage Has Skyrocketed

2. You Can Now Have ONE Website That Works Across ALL Devices and Browsers

3. Cost-Effective Alternative to Mobile Applications

4. Best for SEO (Google Recommends Responsive) = Higher Traffic

5. Higher Customer Satisfaction = Higher Conversion Rate

60% of consumers search for local businesses on their smart phone and 40% of mobile consumers turned to a competitors site after a bad mobile web experience.

If you’re still not convinced, here are some more compelling reasons why you should go responsive:

• 50% of mobile phone users use mobile as their primary Internet source

• 60% of consumers search for local businesses on their smart phone

• 40% of mobile consumers turned to a competitors site after a bad mobile web experience

• 72% of tablet owners purchase online from their tablets each week

• 61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience

• By 2016, 88% of local advertising will be delivered on a mobile device

Do you already have a website but it isn’t responsive? No problem. We can take your existing site and convert your pages to make them responsive.