A responsive web design – what is it and why you need it

You may have heard of the term “responsive web design”. However, you may have no idea what it means or even think it doesn’t apply to you; well you are wrong. A responsive web design in simple words is a website with a design that adjust in size visually. That way you can see it the same way on all your electronic devices.

A responsive web design vs. a non-responsive web design

The concept of a responsive web design was built due to the increase of mobile devices usage. As the increase of purchases for 7” tablets and browsing on cell phones increased; the need for website capability to these devices grew. The goal became to build websites that would adapt to all screen sizes that came about.

A non-responsive web design

With a non-responsive website, when you view it on various portable devices it does not adapt to the screen size; that makes it non-user friendly. In an “old website” per say, on a desktop you might see 4 columns; when you view it on your cell phone the website does not adapt. This causes a loss in of information and the user must scroll left and right to see the missing information. Also, a non-responsive web design heavy on pictures, slows down the loading time on another mobile devise. This causes the website visitor to have a negative experience and leave your website. You have now lost a lead which you will most likely not get back. Their frustration with your brand and business was their first experience.

A responsive web design

A responsive web design which people also call a mobile friendly website is very important to your SEO. It allows the content of your website adapts automatically to the format of the device. All, text and images, will show to fit whether on a tablet or cell phone. Images do not load with any delay because on the back end of the website they are set properly. This in return creates a positive user interaction, giving your brand, business, the opportunity to acquire a new lead.

Responsive web designs use fluid grids rather then pixels. Flexible fluid grids allow the images and data to adapt to the screen size of the device when pixels cannot. Pixels require for someone to be manually change them on the back-end.

Why do I need a responsive web design?

According to Statista.com, in 2016 laptops sales were about $50 million higher then desktops and tablets about $75 million higher then desktop sales. By 2020, according to Statia.com, the sales of desktops will decrease while tablets will continue to rise.

What was in 2011 a trend and in 2013 an increased phenomenon has now in 2018 become a necessity. Google has been watching and now requires websites to be responsive to rank well in searches. A responsive web design is no longer optional or a trend. It is now the norm and a must if your company wants a piece of online sales.

[easy-tweet tweet=”If your website is old,outdated,but also not-responsive, you will not rank in Google. ” user=”webdesignplusseo” hashtags=”#webdesign”]

What does it all mean for your business? Well if your website is not only old, outdated, but also not-responsive, you will not rank in Google. That means leads will not find you. With 85% of consumers doing online searches for all their needs, your competition will continue to outgrow you.

Check your Google analytics to see how many searches your website gets from mobile devices. If you want to know how your website ranks in your field, contact us. We are always happy to help.