5 Reasons to Use Responsive Web Design ASAP

You most likely know that having a captivating, error-free website is key to operating a success business, online or otherwise.

The internet is often the first place people look to when searching for solutions to their problems. They need a new car. Or have a sore foot. They’re not sure which restaurant has the best food. Have you ever browsed the Internet on your smartphone and clicked through to a website’s homepage, only to find the images are stretched and the text is minuscule?

Responsive web design means being able to view a website across various mobile devices with no loss of functionality.

With that in mind, here are 5 reasons why you need to ensure your website is mobile-ready.

1. Mobile devices dominate

The boundaries between smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers are becoming increasingly blurred. We don’t use our phones solely to make calls or send messages. According to statistics compiled by Smart Insights, 80 percent of Internet users own a smartphone, and time spent using a mobile is now greater than than spent on a desktop computer. With more and more people using handheld devices to surf the Internet, the expectation is for websites to have functionality across any and all devices.

2. Websites need to be user-friendly

Thinking back to distorted images and tiny text, these are the things that irritate website visitors and can ultimately cost you a sale. Conversion rates have proven to be lower on smartphones, meaning there is a strong business case to be made for a responsive web design. You need to make browsing your site as easy as possible. Not having to zoom in and out to read text or keep scrolling down and down to find a button will keep customers happy and help avoid a high bounce rate.

3. SEO

Google loves responsive design. With it, all sites have the same URL and HTML, whereas if a website’s template has to be adapted for a mobile device, Google’s bots have to trawl and index separate sites. Information contained on the Official Google Webmaster Central Blog confirms that mobile-friendliness is a significant ranking signal. This means that to rank highly for search terms plugged into Google, your website has to be responsive. Great news for users and for you if you’re looking for ways to get ahead of the competition.

4. The need for speed

According to the Google PageSpeed Developers, a web page should load in under 2 seconds to be effective. Much longer and you risk visitors abandoning your site and going to a competitor’s site instead. Page loading speed is also another factor in SEO rankings so making it a priority is a must.

5. Leaning into the future

Arguably the greatest benefit to using responsive web design is that it’s relatively future proof. Thanks to the flexibility and adaptability of a responsive site, no matter what size screen it is viewed on, it will still look awesome. Considering the rising popularity of smart TVs and watches, this will become an important factor to providing a positive user experience.

A positive user experience is vital when it comes to designing a website. Click To Tweet

A positive user experience is vital when it comes to designing a website. Making sure your site is responsive will not only enhance visitor experience, but will also boost search engine rankings and keep it looking beautiful on any device.

You’ll need a very good reason not to use responsive web design.

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments section.