Today, consumers are accessing your website on multiple devices – and if their experience is subpar because your site doesn’t provide an optimal viewing experience, you could wind up losing a valued customer. In order to avoid this disaster, you need Responsive Web Design (RWD). RWD is an approach to web design aimed at crafting sites to automatically respond to a user’s behavior and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation. It has become a central feature of modern web design and a critical factor in the success of your business. Here, we’ll discuss 5 reasons why your website needs responsive design.
- Mobile is here to stay.
In early 2014, mobile devices accounted for 55% of Internet usage, exceeding Desktop Internet usage for the first time in history. And, according to the IDG Mobile Survey in 2014, mobile is preferred over Desktop for executives conducting research during and after office hours. It uncovered that 92% of executives own a smartphone used for business and 72% of executives use their smartphone to conduct research on products or services for their business. So, it’s clear that mobile has exploded and isn’t going away anytime soon.
- It’s What Consumers Want
People are no longer settling for a bad user experience. According to Google, there is a 61% chance that a mobile user will leave your website immediately if they become frustrated or can’t find what they’re looking for. Also, results from the Adobe 2013 Mobile Consumer Survey show that consumers are using smartphones and tablets to connect with brands in a variety of ways, and they are increasingly switching between devices. The success of your business depends on your ability to provide users with a positive online experience across a wide range of devices. If you don’t invest time in building an intuitive and gratifying experience for your mobile users, you can’t expect those users to engage and do business with your brand.
- It’s Critical for Social Media Success
Business Insider recently reported that 60% of social media activity occurs not on Desktops, but on smartphones and tablets. So, if your business utilizes any kind of social media strategy, you can bet a large percentage of your traffic is coming from mobile devices. If you’re posting links to an unresponsive website, you’ll probably be left with low click-through rates (CTRs) and frustrated visitors. A responsive site, on the other hand, provides a clear and easy-to-navigate experience for visitors no matter what device they’re on.
- Google Loves Responsive Websites
Google strongly recommends RWD as the best way to target mobile users because SEO is enhanced, search engine visibility is improved, load time is reduced, and it looks good on all devices. In fact, Google recently launched a mobile-friendly label for mobile search results in order to help users find websites that have been optimized for mobile. It’s crucial to check and make sure your web pages are mobile-friendly.
- Content Management is Simplified
Before the concept of RWD, businesses often built two different sites to accommodate mobile visitors. RWD is a streamlined alternative, allowing you to spend less time updating your site in multiple places and more time focusing on the quality of the content you’re generating.
With these important reasons your website needs to be responsive, you'll better understand how to leverage your site and your brand. Since more people are using their smartphones and tablets to browse the Internet, it has become increasingly important to create websites that can adapt to any device today, or in the future. Responsive design allows us to accomplish this.
So, what else does a successful website need? Click below for 25 website must haves!
