Some of the most common questions related to website development these days pertain to responsive design. Is it a fad? Is it important? Find out everything you need to know about responsive design and why it is important for your business:
89% of customers research businesses online before making a purchasing decision. It is crucial that your online presence reflects your expertise and care for your customers professionally and effectively. What do you see when you visit your website on a smartphone? Is it a pleasing experience, or do you have to scroll and pinch endlessly to get a phone number? If your answer is the latter, responsive web design is here to solve this problem.
What is responsive web design?
Responsive design utilizes a flexible layout coded to fit different devices and their screen size. The website uses “media queries” to see what device it has to display on, and reshapes itself accordingly. It’s like a stylist that never sleeps and always dresses up your site for the occasion!
When viewing on a desktop, these websites look the same as any other. For instance, try visiting our responsive site, www.hellospark.ca. Grab the corner of your browser window and make the window smaller and smaller – you’ll notice the elements will realign making the site easy-to-use on any device.
Another good example for responsive design is Barack Obama’s website or Mashable. Even these large, complex websites display information that is easy to consume on any device.
You could possibly opt for a separate mobile site or an app. The only real benefit of having a separate mobile site is faster loading speed, which is important, but responsive still has more benefits. Creating an app is recommended for larger companies, or if you have a very specific marketing strategy where an app serves your goals better than a responsive site.
Still skeptical about why this is necessary?
Let’s see empirical data!
When the popular online store O’Neill was redesigned to be responsive, the lift in sales was noticeable:
IPHONE/IPOD:
CONVERSIONS: + 65.71% up
TRANSACTIONS: + 112.50% up
REVENUE: + 101.25% up
ANDROID DEVICES:
CONVERSIONS: + 407.32% up
TRANSACTIONS: + 333.33% up
REVENUE: + 591.42% up
Now you may say “but I don’t run an ecommerce site, I am a dentist/gardener/horseshoe maker”. Any business can benefit from a site that is easy to navigate and offers information the way your customers want it, wherever they want it.
5 Reasons to go responsive:
Cheaper: Creating a responsive website is cheaper than any other alternatives – even keeping your current, non-mobile friendly website. Your competitors are switching to responsive and business lost will cost you more than building a new site.
User-Friendly: Most important! Customers not only prefer easy-to-navigate websites for quick access to information they need in the moment, but they also judge your brand image based on your online presence. A responsive website always shows your best face to prospective leads by offering navigational cues and size-appropriate buttons and imagery.
Future-proof*: Since these websites can adapt to any device, this method of laying out content online is future proof. No matter how large the upcoming iPhone 6 screen size will be, your website is going to look pretty handsome on it.
*Nothing is really future-proof. Who knows, we may interact with our cab windows soon.
Saves time: When updating your website on desktop, mobile versions (all versions, essentially) are also updated. With a separate mobile site, you have to update the same content twice.
Conversion-Friendly: Responsive web design displays your forms and call-to-actions without having to scroll or look for them for a long time.
SEO-Friendly: If you operate a separate mobile site and are using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to bring visitors to your website, it’s like running two separate campaigns. Search engines have to index two different URLs, and whenever your site gets shared, your benefit from this is also split between the two links. Google themselves recommend responsive design as it makes their life easier, which means your life will be easier as well. Everybody wins.
Why is it important?
Mobile searchers are buyers, assuming you can meet their needs. When you search for something on your phone there is a strong intent for purchase, otherwise you would take your time researching at your desktop or tablet. If you win this crowd over, your business will directly benefit from it and your customers will be happier and recommend you to others. If you already have a responsive website, great for you – if not, it’s time to update and put your best face forward online.
Have any questions about responsive design? Let me know by commenting below!
