Mobile Responsive Website vs Un-responsive Website

Did you know more than 50% of web traffic happens on mobile devices?*

Plus, according to Bright Local, 61% of mobile users are more likely to contact a local business with a mobile site. More and more than ever before people are connected to the internet on their phones more or less at all times. If you don’t have a mobile responsive website, you’re going to lose out on new customers.

What is Responsive Web Design?

If you haven’t noticed, computers aren’t the only piece of technology with the ability to browse the web anymore. More people are using smaller screens on their phones and tablets to view web pages. Responsive web design is the ability of a website to adjust to any screen size, orientation, or resolution. As a user switches from their desktop computer to their mobile phone to their tablet, the website should accommodate to each size.

Why Do I Need A Responsive Website?

With more than ½ of all the traffic on the web coming from smartphones and tablets, if you don’t have a responsive website, you’re potentially missing out on customers. Your responsive website will ensure that your business website is accessible, navigable, and useful to people on all devices.

With the number of distractions in this world today, and people having the attention span of a goldfish*, there is a high chance that if presented with a non-responsive site, a potential consumer will lose interest or turn to another site that is more convenient for them. You need a responsive website to make it as easy as possible for customers to engage with and learn about your business.

Responsive Design Requirements

Responsive web design has become an essential tool for any business or organization with a digital presence. To avoid having elements on your site hidden from view or looking distorted, follow these responsive design requirements.

  1. Text Readability: Website visitors shouldn’t have to zoom or scroll in to read anything on your web pages. Make sure to have text sized big enough for anyone to read on any device.
  2. Touchability: Users on a desktop use a mouse but users on a tablet or mobile phone use their fingers. Keep in mind how much spacing will be needed when navigating through the site and selecting items.
  3. Image Size: Be mindful of the number of graphics and images displayed on your site when viewed on a mobile device. Too many images can negatively impact the loading time of your site which can negatively impact your click-through rate and bounce rate.
  4. Use fluid grids: Instead of sizing your page elements by pixels, size them by proportion. Instead of saying how wide each column should be, you specify their relation to the other columns. For example, column one should take up 40% of the page while column two should take up 60% of the page.
  5. Doesn’t require flash player: Remember the days when you were required to download Adobe Flash Player to visit a website? Those days are long gone. Flash Player consumes lots of power, slows down browsers, and doesn’t work on most mobile devices! If your site requires users to download Flash Player to view content or make a purchase then you could potentially be losing business!

Benefits of Having a Responsive Site

Having a responsive web design benefits your business and most importantly, your website visitors and potential customers.

  • Improve your user experience. The ease of navigating through your website and the ability to find information will convince users to come back. Responsive design helps to make the user experience seamless and consistent no matter where they view it.
  • Increase your ranking on search engines. Google gives preference to websites that are mobile-friendly. Also, your mobile load time is a weighted SEO factor that can help boost you to the top of search engine results.
  • Easier management. A responsive website means that you don’t have to maintain or worry about updating multiple versions. This means you only have to update content one time, regardless of how different people consume your content.
  • Increase Traffic, sales, and conversions. Most traffic comes from mobile phones. Having a responsive site that is easy to navigate on mobile will keep people on your site. Also, a large number of consumers complete purchases through smartphones.
  • Consolidate your analytics reporting. Having a responsive website means you only have to track one website. All of your analytics reporting will continue but will be condensed into a single report. You can monitor the user journey, conversion paths, redirections, and more all in one report for your business!

Is Your Site Responsive?

These free tools and methods can help you check if your site is responsive. First is the Google Mobile Friendly test. It allows you to test how easily a visitor can use your page on a mobile device. Simply enter your business’ URL to see how the site page scores. Second, is Google’s PageSpeed Insights. This tool analyzes the content of a web page, then generates suggestions to make that page faster on all devices. Lastly, you can just ask friends to check your site using different devices. Have them screenshot any glitches they may come across while on your page.

Learn more about Mobile Responsive Websites

Listen to our Marketing Manager, Allison, talk more about mobile responsive websites on our Youtube channel.

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