Why a Responsive Website Should be Top Priority

It is a widely accepted fact that consumers are online. For this reason, many companies have built beautiful websites that show up nicely on a full size computer monitor. However, many of these sites get lost on mobile devices. In recent years, it has become even more popular for consumers to go online on their mobile phones or tablets.

As the number of mobile internet users continues to steadily increase, it is growing ever more critical that businesses have user-friendly, responsive websites. Responsive web design has been a hot topic amongst web designers in the past few years. While most people have heard the term, those who are not in the web or marketing world often don’t understand what it means.

What is Responsive Web Design?

A responsive website is one that adapts or responds to its environment. Responsive web design uses a single URL and allows the website to adapt to fit any size screen. In years past, web designers have created a separate mobile site to accommodate consumers using mobile devices. Responsive web design isn’t just the way of the future, it is the way of now, and websites need to be built in this platform for the following reasons:

Top 5 Reasons Your Website should be Responsive NOW

1. Responsive web design aids in your SEO efforts. Google prefers responsive websites. Because more than 67% of online searches are done on Google, it is important to keep Google in favor of your site. Having a single URL, rather than a separate mobile site, makes it easier for Google’s crawl bot to read a site and can increase your site’s rankings.
2. If your site is not responsive, you are turning away customers. With so many consumers using mobile devices, it is critical that sites are easy to use and mobile-friendly. Users don’t want to take the time to zoom in and out trying to find what they are looking for on your site. According to Google Think Insights, if a site visitor uses your site on a mobile device and has a difficult time finding the information they are looking for, they have over a 61% chance of leaving. A positive user experience is key.
3. Everyone is doing it. All of the big players and many of the smaller players have switched over to responsive websites. If your site is hard to use, what is to stop consumers from moving on to your competitor whose site is more user-friendly? It is important to stay with or ahead of your competition, and your competition is likely already using a responsive website.
4. A separate mobile site is no longer good enough. While some companies have a separate mobile site, this is no longer good enough. With a separate mobile site, there is often a lack of content because of spacing issues. If your users can not find what they are looking for on your site, then it is not doing its job.
5. The future is in mobile. With the number of mobile users continuing to increase, it is obvious that mobile is the way of the future. With responsive design, your site will be able to adapt to future devices. As the way consumers access the internet is constantly changing, so should your website to accommodate those changing screens. Responsive web design allows this to happen.

Technology moves fast and is ever evolving. It is imperative that websites adapt to these changes and ultimately give users the best experience possible. Responsive web design is a necessary tool to keep sites on track with the present and the future.