I’m sure as you’re reading this, you’re aware the internet has come a long way from the 90’s. Most websites you come across nowadays will be mobile friendly websites unless they’ve not been updated. What’s a responsive website design?
It’s simple, this means that they will work on mobile devices and don’t use any older web technologies which may display incorrectly or not at all. When you are working off a smaller screen, you will often find that although a website works on your device, using the site can be quite difficult. It can be frustrating making you want to give up on exploring the entire website altogether.
Responsive design is where a website will adjust and adapt depending on the device and screen size it is being viewed on whether your using an old touch screen phone or a small tablet. When you view a website on a mobile device with a very small screen, you shouldn’t need to zoom in on tiny text and buttons should be nice and big so tapping on them is easy and simple.
When you view the same website on a big display it will make the most of the available space, and some less important elements of the page which may have been hidden for smaller devices can be shown.
Why your business shouldn’t ignore responsive design!
The use of mobile devices such smartphones and tablets are always increasing and an estimated 1/3 of all web traffic comes from these devices alone. This figure is predicted to increase, and some predict that it will overtake traffic from desktop computers very soon in the near future. When it comes to actual conversions of that traffic into sales, research has shown that 29% of smartphone users have purchased a product using their mobile and this figure rises to a whopping 64% for tablet users. Both mobiles and tablets have become big players in terms of traffic and sale conversions and businesses need to keep up. So many people now buy online using a mobile device that it’s even been given its own name ‘m-commerce’ which stands for mobile commerce. When it comes to online advertising mobile technology is again beginning to make a big impact. With Google pay per click advertising (PPC) in the UK, 31% of the clicks are accounted for through mobiles and tablet device. The average cost per click has been shown to be significantly lower from mobiles and tablets compared to those from a desktop so businesses can make significant savings by optimising their website through responsive design for those visitors. A survey by Google showed that 48% of users felt that a company didn’t care about gaining their business if their site didn’t work well on a mobile device. It is highly important that you are catering for all the different ways your potential customers might find your website to ensure that you aren’t losing out on custom from any avenue. Many potential customers will give up quickly if a page takes too long to load and if it’s hard to navigate. Get a Free Website Audit and we can tell you if your website is mobile responsive along with the amount of time it takes for it to load on devices. Responsive design will ensure that whether your customer is on a mobile, tablet, or desktop, they will receive the best user experience for them.
Can you make your current site responsive?
For your website to become responsive, it requires a very different type of framework. It needs new coding and so would need to be taken apart to put the new framework in place before being rebuilt. Although the website would need to be rebuilt you could potentially keep the general design intact and content however this could also be a good time to update your content on your website. You may find however that adapting your existing design might not be the best option. First of all if your site isn’t responsive it is quite likely that it is a few years old and therefore it could be a great opportunity for a redesign and create a fresh new look. It’s also important to bear in mind the functionality of your current site; it might be that your current site just wouldn’t look very good when adapted to smaller screens. It’s a good way to re-evaluate your site and discover what’s most important and keep it clean and relevant to your audience. All our website design packages are built to be fully responsive taking into account all that has been mentioned in this article. If you would like to discuss how your existing website can be updated or have a brand new WordPress Website Design built, please get in touch and one of our website designers will be happy to talk you through all the options and our simple web design process.
