The benefits of a responsive website are numerous. Imagine a website with responsive web design that adjusts to the device that your customers are using to view your business online. Imagine the content, the text, titles and the images actually moving so that they fit within the size of that specific screen. Whether it’s a tablet or an iPhone or an iMac or a PC desktop! You can literally see the adjustments happen as the browser size shifts from one size to another. Now I have to admit, the first time I saw this I was blown away! My immediate reaction to watching such a complex feature in action was WOW – this is awesome! What could be more incredible than this? Even today after having seen hundreds of websites with responsive design I still can’t help but smile every time I see the functionality in action; the “cool factor” is just that good every time. It’s no wonder responsive web design continues to receive so much attention – it really is state of the art and very convenient to have. But aside from aesthetics there are some very important benefits that responsive design provides that you should be aware of. So let’s dive into some of those benefits in this blog post! When it comes to responsive web design we want to give you the tools to make an informed and intelligent decision especially if you are creating a new business website.
Effortless Multi-Device Adaptation
The main benefit of responsive web design is the flexibility to adapt a website to different screens. Your website becomes easily accessible on all types of devices. Imagine your handcrafted website adjusting and optimizing (for your customer’s viewing pleasure) automatically. Effortlessly adapting to the various screen sizes in existence – that my friends, is the true power of responsive web design. And it’s changing the web design industry and competitive landscape of business websites as we know it! Based on the size of the screen, your website will move, content will relocate, images will resize, font sizes may shift, the layout will change and even the navigation will adjust to deliver an exceptional user experience no matter what device your customers are using to view your business!
Easy to Maintain
Creating multiple versions of your website is costly and cumbersome. Considering just a desktop, iPad and iPhone for example, means that you will need to triple your efforts when looking to make an update to your web page. With Responsive web design you’ll avoid this extra effort completely. Your website will work seamlessly on different devices and so when you need to update your website you only update one platform through your content management system. In the long run this will save you time and help avoid headaches with having to work on multiple versions of your website.
Improves your SEO
The benefit here is in the fact that you will only need to optimize content for one link. The URL structure remains constant for all devices. With Responsive design you have one URL that is easy to update and optimize your content which in turn optimizes your content for all devices. Whether it’s a Samsung phone, iPad or desktop responsive web design makes it easy for the Google crawlers to index your website pages.
Higher Conversion
If you are selling more of your goods and services online then you are converting more. If your customers are finding your business and making purchases through the use of tablets and mobile devices then your conversion is increasing. If one of your many conversion metrics happens to be sales then you’ll see an upward shift in your top line as well!
Increases Mobile Sales
It’s no secret that the mobile revolution has been in full force for quite some time now. Over $7.7 Billion in mobile sales expected for 2013 alone and that figure will continue to increase for several years to come. People are buying online and they are using their tablets and smart phones to make those purchases. To get them even more comfortable in doing so responsive design is a must.
Seamless User Experience
Imagine your incredible looking website looking less than incredible on an iPhone or iPad? Imagine parts of your website not working correctly or having certain images look stretched or content out of place. Is this sloppy looking? You betcha. Will your potential customers notice the distractions? Absolutely! Is this a credibility killer – you better believe it!
Keep Your Website Relevant For Longer
No doubt about it – having a business website that looks great on all mediums is the way to go in terms of longevity. When you use state of the art technology to build your business website it goes without saying that the final product is going to be of higher quality and remain relevant for much longer. Check out these quick stats courtesy of eMarketer that highlight the potential behind responsive web design.
- B2C eCommerce is expected to hit almost $400 Billion for 2013.
- Mobile Ad spending will reach $7.7 Billion this year alone.
- Expect 246 Million US mobile phone users this year – that’s 78% of the nation’s population.
- More than 58% of all US mobile phone users will access the internet via a mobile device, with smartphone adoption driving this. By 2017, this number will grow to 80.7%!
At Isadora Design we recommend that all our clients consider the benefits of a responsive website for any new handcrafted website we build. Having your business website detect the type of device each website visitor is using, is not only best practices but also beneficial for conversion and attracting more customers.