The concept of responsive web design surfaced and gained momentum with the increasing number of mobile phone users.
As more and more people started browsing the Internet through smartphones, there felt a need for websites that look equally good on both laptops and smartphones. Today, responsiveness is not just imperative but mandatory.
So what is responsive web design?
The web design approach allows websites to adapt to the screen size and resolution automatically.
Responsive websites adjust their content according to different screen sizes so that users can view the content without any trouble and have the best experience no matter the device they are accessing the website on.
Responsive web design – The essential e-commerce ingredient
The shopping habits of massive populations are continually changing due to the opportunities provided by technology. There are plenty of options out there, and they’d instead swipe onto a rival’s page if they come across a complication on yours.
Responsive web design allows you to stay at the top of the search grid. It tends to respond to the user’s environment by adapting to their:
- Behavior
- Orientation
- Platform
Responsive web design will utilize customer feedback and market trends to curate accordingly. It brings a comprehensive user experience with over-the-top visuals. The user simply has to scroll up and down to navigate across all sections.
The authorities do not have to change the algorithms according to the devices being used. It is a one-design structure that fits all.
Why is responsive web design mandatory?
Responsive websites are no longer a luxury. They are a must for every business to stay relevant and perform better on all devices.
The following are the reasons why responsive web design is essential for every business.
1. The ever-increasing mobile traffic
In 2019, 52.5 percent of web traffic came from mobile phones alone. This means mobile Internet users have outnumbered desktop users.
Mobile traffic shot up by more than 200 percent in the last seven years. This is further expected to increase in 2020 and beyond.
Can you afford not to cater to mobile users of this high percentage? If your website is not responsive, you are simply giving away half of your visitors to your competitors.
Your website not being responsive also tarnishes your brand’s image. No mobile visitor that has to shut your website for not being able to view or read the content will never revisit you.
In case you lack the ability or expertise for creating a mobile-oriented website, you can consult a professional web design agency for curating your site according to the trends.
Mobile browsing is the new norm responding to which must be your top priority when designing your website. It is crucial to work out a sound mobile-oriented strategy so you can avoid all the pitfalls and stay atop the search grid.
2. Search engine rankings
Google knows the trends and always rises to the occasion. It understood the rapid transition from desktop to mobile use for browsing purposes in 2015 and hence introduced mobile-first indexing.
With this, Google now uses the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking. Although Google has not explicitly stated that responsive design is a ranking factor on its own, but they do a favor and reward responsive design over websites that have a separate designated site for both desktop and mobile users.
As per a finding by Econsultancy, 62 percent of companies that designed a website specifically for mobile witnessed a sales boost. Some practices they use in the process are improving readability and ease of use. By having a mobile-friendly website, you have a higher chance of better visibility in search results.
3. Enhanced user experience
Responsive web designs make it easier for visitors to navigate through the site and find what they are looking for.
They can quickly scroll or zoom in to read content or take a specific action. This improves their overall experience and, with it, their perception of the brand.
Responsive websites also tend to load faster, which is a major turn-on. 47 percent of users abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. This kind of website design minimizes the response time of a server. It contains fewer HTTP requests, asks for fewer plugins, and optimizes the graphical content in accordance.
Making a website responsive can be challenging, and there are a few issues that come with it. It can sometimes cause a website to take very long to load on mobile devices. To avoid problems, let only an expert web design company design a responsive website for your brand.
4. Lower bounce rate
Great content alone will not help you improve the bounce rate. If it is difficult to be accessed or read on mobile/tablet devices, users will abandon it.
High bounce rate signals search engines that your website is not relevant to the user’s search query, or your content does not help them solve their problem, thereby negatively impacting your rankings in search results. For a lower bounce rate, your website should be engaging enough and compatible with all the devices.
You can easily measure the bounce rate of your website by incorporating a responsive web design. Things like tracking users’ movement through the site, routes of conversion become easy and pretty simple.
It also gives you a statistical display for all segments without any arduous calculations. An evaluation of this figure will help you to identify the pain points of the customer and work to remove them.
5. High conversion rate
Every business strives for a high conversion rate. With more than 50 percent of visitors coming from mobile devices, this is not possible if the website is not responsive.
Higher search engine rankings, better user experience, and lower bounce rates will all contribute to achieving a high conversion rate.
The escalation of conversion rate also happens due to the effective utilization of content. You can use the same material for tablets, smartphones, and desktop computers. This way, the users can also share your content using a single URL. Moreover, this type of website design focuses on the layout to make it easier for users.
Small changes like more significant CTA options and text size add up to deliver the ultimate delightful user experience. State Farm, for example, multiplied its conversion rate by 54 percent across all devices after going responsive.
The more comfortable you make it for your website visitors to find what it is they are looking for or succinctly explain what you can do for them, the more likely you are to convert them.
Conclusion: Reasons why responsive web design is mandatory
The need for responsive websites is more than ever today. Mobiles have become the first choice of people for web browsing, and businesses need to give them the freedom to access their content without boundaries.
Businesses that don’t keep up with changes happening around them and are not current with market trends eventually die. Responsive web design is your gateway to provide a seamless experience to all the users out there.
The stats and figures mentioned above are clear proof that a vast segment of the consumer population craves mobile-oriented design. It will help if you stay aware of changing market trends to retain your existence in the market.
Asad Ali is a digital marketing expert with extensive experience of 8 years in search engine optimization, conversion optimization, and user experience. He is currently working at www.go-gulf.com – a Web Design company with years of experience of a team of qualified professionals.
