RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN
THE PROBLEM
With the growing popularity of mobiles and tablets, it is no longer possible to predict the size of screen or type of device potential customers use to view your website. It is important therefore to ensure that your site is displayed in the best format no matter what device is used.
THE SOLUTION
Responsive Web Design detects the size of screen that is being used and delivers a design format and content that best suits the device, using flexible layouts and images, as well as targetted design code. In this way you can be sure that your website content will be available to all users without the need to use the zoom feature or scroll endlessly from left to right.
WHY IS RESPONSIVE DESIGN IMPORTANT?
SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS
Ranking well in search engine searches is crucial to the success of any online business, and with so many people now accessing the web using mobiles and tablets, it is vital that websites work well on these devices. In 2015, Google began favouring websites that were optimised for mobiles. Google also recommends using a responsive design for this purpose, as it not only ensures that the website will perform well on mobiles but as responsive design uses one website, the site will be easier and more efficient for the search engine to crawl.
USER FRIENDLY DESIGN
Mobile website viewers have different aims from those using a desktop to access the site. They want quick access to small units of the most relevant information and tend not to spend so long on the site. Responsive design allows the layout of the webpage to change to suit the device. As the same code is used in all devices, users will also be able to share links to products, images and pages, knowing they will work on all devices.
FUTURE PROOFING
New devices and screen sizes are constantly being introduced to the marketplace. Responsive design gives the website owner the best chance of future-proofing their site as the website pages will scale up or down to suit the device screen size being used. A responsive website owner is therefore already prepared for new screen sizes that are yet to be released to the market.
BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
One responsive website for all devices means that the website owner only has one set of updates to carry out and only one SEO campaign to manage - minimising both time and expense. There will only be one set of website statistics to analyse, and their social media exposure benefits from having one URL for all devices. As not all businesses will employ mobile optimised or responsive designs, those who do will have a tangible advantage over competitors.
NEED TO UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE?
If you would prefer to retain your existing website design, but need it to be updated to work on the most recent devices and screen sizes, we can advise you on whether it is cost effective to have your website updated as opposed to investing in a new website. Contact us for further information, or for an informal chat on what you are looking for from your website.