The importance of responsive website design

Firstly, what is a responsive website design? It is a website that is designed to have a flexible layout that adapts to the size of screen on the device it is being viewed upon. It can be used on a laptop, smartphone or tablet and your website’s general appearance will remain the same. 

So why is a responsive design so important?

Mobile.Mobile.Mobile

More searches are now conducted on mobile devices than any other type of device – in fact, nearly 60% of all online searches are now conducted on a phone. Carried about and immediately accessible, the smartphone is the go to device for most users and if your website is not set up to display your website  correctly you are losing customers and visitors.

Provides an Improved User Experience

Unresponsive websites distort the way your website appears on other devices, in particular mobile. Text and images can be out of alignment, making it a pain for site visitors to navigate and find the information they are looking for. Such a poor user experience will ensure that the visitor doesn’t return to your site again.

Adapts to any Screen Size

As mentioned in the definition of responsive design above, the adaptability of a responsive site means that it can be accessed by any device, giving your site a higher level of user experience and accessibility to a complete audience regardless of the device they are looking at. This puts you way ahead of the competition that don’t have responsive websites.

Site Accessibility and Search Rankings

Responsive websites have a greater chance of improving your search engine rankings. Why is this? These days search engines, in particular, Google, rank websites not simply by keywords and content, but the accessibility of your site – particular for mobiles. With mobile searches overtaking any other, preference is put on a site that is mobile device friendly and this is reflected within the rankings.

Lower Cost of Development and Maintenance

A responsive website design means that you can have one version of your site, rather than having several versions of your site serving separate platforms. Keeping updates and maintenance centralized -adjustments on your site will be reflected across all devices – means reducing your time and costs.