What is Responsive Website Design and Why Do you Need It?

Responsive Web Design is a method of designing and coding a website that allows for optimal viewing experience across all platforms from desktop computer monitors of all sizes to tablets and mobile phones. A website designed responsively will load correctly on a large monitor all the way down to a small monitor while maintaining ease of use, minimal resizing, scrolling, ease of navigation and so on. When a website is designed responsively all website elements, menus, images and text, videos and so on gracefully adjust to fit the screen.

Even just a few years ago having a responsive website was in the category of “it would be nice to have, but it’s not necessary”. Not anymore. But what exactly is responsive website design and why do you need it? Here we’ll give you the top 5 reasons.

Mobile Devices are Here to Stay

With the number of smartphone users worldwide expected to surpass 2 Billion by 2016 (yes, I said 2 billion, not 2 million according to emarketer.com) And the number of tablet users expected to surpass 1 Billion worldwide, it’s safe to say mobile phones and tablets are here to stay. Research also states that the number of mobile internet users will surpass that of desktop users within the next year.

A More Positive User Experience

It’s also safe to say your customers are viewing your website on a mobile device whether you want them to or not. Interacting with websites on smartphones and tablets is not the same as doing so on a desktop monitor. Factors such as click versus touch, pixel resolution, screen-size, support or rather lack of support for Adobe’s Flash Technology must be taken into consideration. If your website isn’t designed and tested on these devices user experience and user satisfaction will be low and bounce rates will be high. Translation: users will leave before learning anything about your company or worse, before taking any kind of action. Your customers are busy and need to be able to access information from your website not only while sitting at their desktops but while on the go on their mobile device.

Improves SEO

It’s a fact, websites that are built responsively rank higher on Google than sites that don’t. Google favors responsive websites over non-responsive websites. What does this mean to you? If you want your potential customer to find you when doing a search for your business or your business services you will naturally rank higher in Google if you have a responsive website.

Increases Conversion Rates

It’s also a fact that over 50% of searches done on Google are done on a mobile device. If your website is mobile-friendly and your website shows up in a mobile search users are more likely to call, click or buy if they can do so easily. Research shows that the number of users buying online with their mobile phone of tablet is on the rise. 69% of tablet users report shopping on their device within the last 30 days.

Increase in Customers and Revenue

Companies who have recently redesigned their websites to be responsive have reported an increase in online purchases, traffic to their site and new customers by as much as triple. Having a website that loads properly across all devices means your company is ready to handle traffic that comes from all devices which is growing every day. Bottom line: when a user or potential customer finds your site on their mobile phone and can easily navigate, find your phone number and make a purchase they are highly likely to not only be a customer but be a repeat customer.

At Groove Marketers we specialize in responsive website design. Call us at 801-243-3358 or 801-949-4479 for more information.