A website exhibiting responsive web design is one capable of adapting to the screen it’s being used on, no matter what device it is. The primary advantage of this kind of design is that the site loads quickly with zero distortions, so users do not have to manually resize anything to view the content.
For example,
Take this Palmetto web designing blog. The layout of this page would change based on your screen dimensions, thereby maintaining a consistent presentation.
Do Not Be Unresponsive To Responsive Websites
The last two years have seen the World Wide Web move forward at an incredible rate.
Among the many changes we have seen, the inevitable finally happened. Mobile browsing overtook desktops as the device of choice for internet users.
We also found that of those people using only one type of device, twice as many are using mobile devices over desktops.
In spite of all these premonitions, many small businesses have not yet responded well to the most basic and obvious demand – a responsive website. If you are one among them, you may soon be in a world of hurt.
Standing in 2018, we are seeing Google favoring websites that are optimized for people with smartphones and other mobile devices. A non-responsive website doesn’t fulfill this basic Google requirement. As a result, it may rank lower on a Google SERP compared to its associates.
Key Benefits of Responsive Web Designs
- Increased Traffic
According to a SimilarWeb report, more than half of traffic to top sites in the USA came from mobile devices in 2015.
Hence, it is mighty important for businesses to have websites capable of rendering properly on small screens, so users aren’t compelled to encounter a sub-optimal website layout or distorted photographs.
While some companies still prefer to have a separate website for their mobile users, responsive web designing is quickly becoming the norm because of its improved versatility at low development costs.
- Improved website usability
If users cannot easily navigate your site, it is unlikely that they will stick around.
Google recognizes the average time spent as a fundamental indicator if a website’s value for a given query. Responsive web designing makes your site easier for your audience to read and navigate.
The overall result is an improved UX and greater time spent on the site. It may also lead to improved conversions and an increase in the number of repeated visits.
Note: Improved site usability through responsive web designs doesn’t only satisfy users, but it is also typically rewarded by Google with better rankings on its SERP.
- Low bounce rate
As we said before, a well-optimized responsive website provides a much better UX to the visitor.
Hence, it’s much more likely for them to stick around for a longer period of time exploring various nooks and corners of your platform. On the other hand, it your site’s not responsive, it is very likely for your visitors to “bounce” in the blink of an eye.
- No duplicate content issues
As clever as Google’s algorithms are, they still require directions from you on which of your website content is more important to your users.
Those who have decided to have a separate website for their mobile users have a tough time managing duplicate content problems.
Using a separate site for your mobile users also require you to have a separate URL, and this is precisely where duplicate content issues arise right out of the blues. That’s because the content of your desktop and mobile URL is same, even though the URL is different.
The result is almost always lower rankings on a SERP. A responsive website can solve this problem in a jiffy because you will be having a single URL regardless of the device it’s being used on.
- Easy Report on Analytics
Knowing the actual source of your traffic and the way users interact with your website is necessary for making calculated improvements.
Managing multiple versions of a site calls for a developer to track visitor journeys through multiple funnels, conversion paths, and redirections. Having a single responsive website can help in greatly simplifying this monitoring process.
Google Analytics and various other similar tools can now cater to responsive sites by condensing analytics and tracking in a single report, so you can see the performance of your website on different devices.
- Boosted sharing on social media
Responsive websites are built to make social sharing easy for the most dominant platform online – mobile devices.
Although social media can play a vital role in improving your SEO, it will not have a direct impact on your rankings. But it can definitely help in growing your followers.
A bigger audience automatically results in more traffic and engagement, including more search query for your brand. Thus, at some point in time, Google will take notice for sure.
- Improved browsing experience offline
Now that most tablets and smartphones are HTML5 enabled, responsive web designing makes it possible for users to continue viewing the content on HTML5 web apps without internet connectivity.
This entire process is known HTML5 application cache where developers can use the interface to specify certain resources that the browser should cache, thus making it available to offline users. Using the HTML5 application cache comes with several benefits:
- Offline browsing, like we said.
- Improved speed; cached resources are local; and hence should load faster.
- Reduction in server loading time.
Final word
With the exponential increase in the number of mobile devices, the study of responsive web designs will only become more complex over time.
While it is easy to assume that the advantages of responsive designs have all been hammered out, it might still be possible that we are in the field’s infancy. After all, people are using avant-garde devices like virtual reality headsets to access the web. So there’ll definitely be no shortage of novel challenges going forward.
Going back to the original question – do you have a responsive website yet? If the answer’s “no,” you better get on the bandwagon ASAP!
