Responsive Website Design – what is it and why do you need it
In this 21st century mega trend of social media and hand held devices, where mobile devices are set to outsell desktop PC’s with an estimated 200 million tablets sold in 2013. This can mean only one thing; consumers are increasingly searching, socialising and purchasing via a mobile device every day, the first thing they do in a morning and the last thing they do at night.
At least 50% of consumers will use a mobile device in their purchase process both online and offline… How common is it to be looking around a high street store, see a bit of kit you like then reach for your mobile to check on prices and reviews online? It’s natural! Websites NEED to be mobile friendly. Want to no more about responsive design, please get in contact…
I’ve heard of Mobile Websites but what is ‘Responsive’?
Responsive website design is a term that has been banded around the web design industry for some time. So it is understandable if anyone outside this world does not know what this jargon is all about.
Responsive website design explained (in brief): Websites are required to work on desktops, laptosp, smartphones, iPhones, iPads, tablets and their respective variety of screen sizes & resolutions. The rapidly emerging solution is termed as ‘responsive design’, where the website responds to the resolution and size of the device it is being served on.
The original solution was to build a separate mobile website but this can be costly in terms of initial development, the time implications of maintaining both desktop and mobile versions and a key problem that a mobile site may not necessarily be tailored to suit tablet devices.
Google loves responsive websites with great user experiences and the current Google algorithms are prioritising responsive sites in their search results. Google also frowns upon duplicate content and by having a mobile site there could be an overlapping issue here. The benefit of responsive websites is they have content from one source.
However, there is still reason for a mobile version of a website, it is not obsolete (yet). For a more detailed explanation see our responsive article: 2013 The Year Of Responsive Website Design.
In a nutshell it all just fits – the user experience your visitors need
There is no annoying scrolling around, zooming in and out, trying to pick out tiny text links. It looks good, it is accessible and it works. Give your website visitors the user experience they expect, the experience they need.
People use mobile devices to enhance their lives. Staying connected, browsing websites, using Apps and social media networks to improve knowledge, have fun, be informed and purchase. 90% of mobile searches lead to action, 50% lead to purchase, with this trend forever on the up, the time to respond to responsive is now!
design understood website will be going responsive very soon!
We are so busy building responsive websites for our clients, our own site hasn’t had the love it deserved and got bumped down the list. It is in the pipeline and we aim to be up and running in the next few months.
In the meantime keep an eye out for the brand spanking new udrive responsive website coming very soon, we are particularity happy with this one.
So if you want to ensure our site is always being bumped down the list, if you need a new website with responsive design, or want your existing website converting to a responsive build, contact us about responsive website design today…