Following the Internet of mobile Internet, there is no denying that responsive web design became one of the most talked-about concepts in web development and design. But does your business needs it?
Here are eight reasons that can compel you to invest in responsive web design:
Adaptable
At Sytian Web Designer Philippines, we describe “responsive web design” as ensuring that each website element responds to its environment.
Responsive web design allows your website to adapt to any screen size. Meaning, your website can look and feel the same regardless if someone visits your website through desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
Keep in mind that more and more people are accessing the Internet through mobile. In 2018 alone, more than half of the Internet traffic is from mobile. And it is expected to increase in the years to come.
Might as well invest in responsive web design so you can cater to this growing mobile traffic. Otherwise, you’ll be missing out a lot.
Easy to Manage
Most small businesses do not have the time and resources to update or create a mobile version of their website.
With responsive web design, you do not need to hire a web designer and developer. Because it inherently adapts to any screen size, you can easily and quickly manage the changes on your website yourself.
Not to mention that there is no need for you to wonder whether you should link your website’s desktop or mobile version on your social media profiles. You need to link one domain, and your site visitors can access it regardless of the device they are using.
Another advantage of responsive web design is that you do not have to worry about redirects. Because your website will automatically resize based on your site visitor’s device, there is no need to redirect your site visitors to the right version just because they are not on their desktop.
Cost-Effective
Since your website is responsive, there is no need to maintain two websites. This is what makes responsive web design a cost-effective and smart investment for your business.
Hiring a mobile web designer, maintaining two versions of your websites, as well as optimizing both could cost a lot of money. And not every business owner has the budget for that.
Responsive web design, on the other hand, eliminates the cost that comes with managing two websites. Not to mention that you only need to create, maintain, and optimize one website that will look appealing to all of your site visitors regardless of screen size.
Seamless UX
Did you know that major search engines pay great importance to your website’s user experience?
According to Anna Crowe of Search Engine Journal, search engines like Google and Bing look at dwell time as an indicator that your website provides a great user experience. Dwell time is the amount of time a site visitor spends on your page before clicking the back button to the search results.
However, a longer dwell time does not necessarily mean that a website has good UX. Sometimes it could mean that a web page is taking a while to load or that a site visitor is having a difficult time figuring out what to do with your page content.
Regardless, a seamless UX is one of the major benefits of responsive web design. A seamless UX means that your website does not distort whenever someone accesses it through mobile or tablet.
Added SEO Gains
As mentioned earlier, search engines give importance to website UX. And you can provide a seamless UX through responsive web design.
This means that investing in responsive web design allows you to reap the added SEO gains of mobile search.
Keep in mind that search engines like Google prefers mobile-friendly websites. In fact, the big-G announced back in May 2019 that they will implement mobile-first indexing for new sites. This means that Google will use the mobile version of your website, predominantly for indexing and ranking.
So if you have a mobile-friendly website, thanks to responsive web design, then you are well on your way to getting ready for mobile-first indexing.
Expanded Customer Reach
As mentioned earlier, mobile traffic comprises more than 50% of the world’s Internet traffic. In relation to this, Cisco sees that it will continue to increase in 2022 because of two reasons:
- The growing number of smartphone users would drive up the demand for the mobile Internet by up to 5.7 billion in 2022.
- The delivery of 5G networks is allowing mobile internet users to consume multimedia content (particularly video) at an ever-increasing speed rate.
Meanwhile, the mobile Internet allows users to look for local businesses and service providers while on the go. In fact, the HubSpot Marketing Statistics revealed that 72% of consumers would do a local search before visiting a physical store within five miles.
If you want your business to appear on local search and cater to more customers, investing in responsive web design can help you get started.
Increase in Revenue
Although responsive web design is not relatively new, it allows your website to be more accessible for various internet-connected devices. Meaning, no one is left behind.
Back in 2016, an Econsultancy User Experience survey revealed that 62% of companies polled saw an increase in online sales once they shifted their website to mobile-friendly, responsive design. This number is nothing to sneeze at!
Think of it this way: People who are searching for products and services on mobile are more likely ready to buy from you compared to those who are searching on their desktop. So why let this opportunity pass by?
Future Scalability
Because a responsive web design allows you to provide a fluid and seamless UX to your site visitors, it ensures future scalability for your business.
What does that mean? It means that your website can respond to new devices by resizing and re-arranging its design that is suitable for a wide range of screen sizes.
It also means that your website can adapt to new smartphones available in the market, regardless of their screen size, since it is responsive. If there is a need to tweak your website, it is only minimal.
Conclusion: Invest in Responsive Web Design Now
Needless to say, responsive web design is the new norm for every business. If you want to get ahead of the competition, prepare and get ready to invest in responsive web design.
If you are not following suit, you might as well hand over your business to your competitors who already are.
Featured image credit: pexels.com
