With the number of mobile users skyrocketing in recent times, the need to make website design responsive has become even more imperative. While earlier the websites were designed specifically for desktop users, today it is essential that a website is optimized for desktop, mobile, and tablet as well.
This is where responsive website design comes into the picture. In simple words, the responsiveness of a website design refers to its ability to adjust depending on the device on which it is being displayed.
Irrespective of whether it is a phone, desktop or tablet, the user-friendliness of the website does not get affected, which is undeniably the most crucial feature users find in every website.
To make this clear, mentioned below are the top seven reasons why making a website responsive is the need of the hour.
1. Responsive Website Design is Here to Stay
For those, who might have brushed aside the idea of responsive website design by considering it just a passing phase, this trend will be around for a long time. As mentioned earlier, the number of smartphone users is constantly exceeding, it is essential to make a website responsive, in order to reach maximum users.
More and more people prefer smartphones over desktops to perform searches and look for product and services required. Therefore, ignoring this crucial aspect and overlooking the power of responsiveness can prove costly by making the website owners to miss out on many rewarding opportunities of expanding their customer base and enhance their profits.
2. Assure Better Experience for Users
The primary goal of creating a website is to attract more users and responsive website design helps in achieving just that. If users come across a site when browsing the internet which does not deliver the expected experience it should, then they become frustrated, leaving the page immediately to visit another competitor website.
This can prove detrimental for the reputation and future prospects of a brand. To avoid this, it is essential that users find what they are looking for without any difficulty or hassle irrespective of the platform they choose and this can be made possible by making a website adaptable to different devices.
3. Ensure Quick Loading Website
Considering the improvement that responsive website design can bring in the loading time of a website, it becomes extremely important to deliver a positive and engaging experience to the users. However, this is difficult to achieve when a desktop website is accessed on a Smartphone.
When users have to wait for a long time for a website to load, the likelihood of them visiting the website again gets reduced considerably. Decreasing concentration span and lack of time are the prime reasons why fast loading websites are preferred and this is where responsive website design proves helpful by barring the users from the long wait.
4. Boost SEO with Responsive Web Design
Search Engine Optimization is the key to make a website rank higher in search engine results; thus making it an integral part of every website development process. In order to improve the search engine ranking of a website with effective SEO, it is recommended to incorporate responsive design.
This is because by making a website responsive, designers can make it easier for the spiders to crawl through the website and give it the deserved ranking. Having a single URL can help to attract more online traffic, which is difficult to achieve in case the URLs are not the same.
5. Increase the Number of Referrals
Inbound marketers are well aware of the need for incorporating social media and blogging in their strategy because it increases the chances of attracting more traffic. As an increasing number of users are making use of their phones to stay connected through social media sites, they are more likely to share links using the same platform.
However, sharing website and content links without making a website responsive can do more harm than good. This is sure to lead to reduced conversion rates and increased bounce rates, along with leaving the users frustrated. Conversely, having a responsive website means the better flow of information and attracting more users.
6. Make Website Design Easy to Manage
Recognizing the need for making their websites available to mobile users as well, many businesses went on to have separate websites for mobiles and desktops. However, doing this was both costly and time-consuming.
Having two websites can not only it can make it difficult to implement SEO strategies, but managing both websites can become very difficult for designers and website developers as well. On the contrary, a responsive website can be managed more easily, as there is a single code base instead of managing two separate websites. Moreover, implementing a CMS also becomes easier for businessmen; thus providing them an added benefit.
7. Enjoy a Cost-effective Option
Building a responsive website often made many business owners consider it an expensive venture till a few years ago. Being a relatively new trend, people had many misconceptions regarding responsive websites.
However, in reality, a responsive website is not costly; rather it can prove to be a highly cost-effective option, provided it is used well. Although creating a responsive website might require business owners to pay slightly more as compared to static websites, responsive websites prove worthwhile in the long run by enabling business owners to attract more number of users, expand the reach of their brand and open new avenues for growing their business.
Conclusion
As tablets and smartphones offer the convenience and ability to perform various tasks without requiring a desktop, it is not difficult to see why these have become the preferred choice of users for checking emails, online shopping and connecting through social media.
To make the most of such rewarding times, it is essential that the focus is shifted towards creating responsive websites which can easily adapt to different environments, providing equally amazing and engaging experience to the users.
