Responsive Website Design – Why it’s Essential for your Business
April 8th 2014 | By Steve Grant
According to recent statistics, 50% of all mobile web users now rely on their phones as their primary or exclusive internet source and 57% of mobile internet users will refuse to recommend a business that’s got a poorly designed mobile website.
By the end of 2014 it is thought that internet traffic by mobile will exceed desktop traffic. It is therefore imperative that your website can be viewed as comfortably on a mobile device as it can on a desktop or laptop.
Rather than creating a website designed specifically for mobile devices, Responsive Website Design (RWD) optimises the viewing experience according to the type of device you are using. The website adjusts or ‘responds’ according to whether you are using a mobile, tablet or desktop, offering the ultimate user experience.
The Benefits of Responsive Website Design
There are numerous reasons why opting for responsive web design over creating a separate mobile site is the right way to go:
- Save Money – A responsive website means you only need to maintain ONE site. No need to for upkeep and hosting of a separate mobile site.
- Increase Revenue – If your website can’t be viewed comfortably on a mobile or tablet device, your business could be missing out on revenue. According to a recent report, 72% of tablet owners purchase online from their tablets each week.
- Increase Loyalty – If customers can easily and quickly view and navigate your website no matter where they are or what device they are using, they will return to your website.
- Search Ranking Benefits – By keeping all of your traffic on one site, you can boost your website ranking within the search engines. Google prefers sites that are mobile friendly.
- Flexible – Responsive Website Design can be implemented without changing your existing desktop website and the upgrade won’t affect your content management system.
- Forward Thinking – With mobile and tablet traffic only set to increase in the future and more devices available, Responsive Website Design makes good sense for the long-term.
What to Demand From a Responsive Website Designer
The benefits of responsive web design are clear, but it’s important to find a web design agency that will do a good job. Here are some key factors to look for:
- Testing – Thorough testing of your website is essential to ensure it works on all devices and across all the top brands such as Apple, Samsung, HTC and Blackberry. Thorough testing means more scope to attract and retain a higher proportion of customers.
- Seamless Upgrade – A good design agency will be able to upgrade to a responsive design without making any changes to the existing website or content management system. There should be a seamless switchover with no downtime.
- Flexibility – No matter who designed your current website or when it was last updated, a good website design agency will be able to work with and upgrade to a RWD quickly and efficiently.
A website that can be viewed on all devices is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity. There is no need for a separate mobile website to be built when Responsive Website Design can adapt according to the user’s device. Finding a design agency that can quickly and seamlessly update a website is an essential part of the process.
Get in touch if you would like to find out how we can help.