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What is Responsive Website Design and Why Should I Use It?

 What is Responsive Website Design and Why Should I Use It?

What is it?

Responsive Website Design, or RWD, is utilized by responding to the design of the website. This means that, when used, the layout of the website will format itself to fit within the user’s screen size as well as orientation. If your website is not created with responsive design, it will look exactly the same across all devices. The reason this is important is due to the fact that different devices have different screen orientations, sizes, formats, etc.

Not only does it make your website compatible with multiple devices, but it also helps increase the number of time consumers spend on your site, which in turn will boost the site ranking in search engines (also known as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO). The technology is used to ensure a positive experience for the user no matter what interface they are accessing your website through.

Why should I use it?

It’s no secret that the accessibility of your website heavily affects your internet traffic, as well as your return on investment. According to a study conducted by BJ Fogg, Ph.D. at Stanford University, “People quickly evaluate a site by visual design alone. When designing your site, pay attention to layout, typography, images, consistency issues and more. The visual design should match the site’s purpose.”

With that being the case, making your website easily accessible and visually appealing are a few of the simplest things you can do to ensure your page is getting the exposure it deserves. The goal is for you to maximize the versatility of your website so that it is user-friendly for all interfaces. You put a lot of time and effort into creating your website, and we know that. Below are some numbers that will show you how effective RWD really is.

ThinkWithGoogle stated that consumers browsing your website on mobile devices are 61% more likely to leave your page immediately if they cannot easily find what they are looking for. One of the easiest ways to ensure that this doesn’t happen is by using RWD. If your website can tailor itself to be easily accessible to the user no matter the device, then said users will have a much easier time searching for what they are looking for. Having a site that does not use RWD will require much more work for the user which will likely cause them to leave your site, as the statistic above shows.

Search Engine Optimization is undeniably important for your company’s website. SEO is the process of increasing the quality of your website in order to provide a better user experience (UX) for consumers. Pierre Far, a Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, announced clear guidelines and recommendations on mobile SEO. “In short, Google recommends you go with responsive design when possible.” This is largely important because if Google is recommending RWD, that means that it works. Think of this as an equation: using RWD on your site will increase UX and lead to consumers spending more time on your site; that heightened level of UX and time spent on your site will boost your ranking, and that boosted ranking is the key to successful SEO.

WordPress put out an article saying that there has been a large increase in the number of responsive themes being created for their sites due to high demand. They highly recommend using RWD, which will satisfy customers accessing your site across different devices.

Will This Work for Me?

Absolutely! A study measuring the success of Responsive Website Design for clients showed that traffic on their websites increased by 87%, and brought page views up by 129%. Those are some impressive numbers! Additionally, time on site was improved by 41% when implementing an RWD for consumers!

How Do I Get This for My Website?

When you register a new domain, most registrars make it easy to get started using RWD. 101domain offers a convenient tool and gives several options on how you can design your website to become responsive to multiple devices and interfaces. Useful features such as Google Maps, Social Media widgets, Google Analytics, PayPal, SEO Panel, etc. are all included, no matter which plans you decide to go with. With three different plans to choose from, there is no shortage of tools to help get you started on redesigning your site.

Limitations

As with everything, there are some cons in using a Responsive Website Design. It is important that you as a consumer can be equally briefed from both sides in order to make an informed decision, and that includes looking at some of the downsides of this design technique.

Some include:

-You may run into problems with advertisements as resizing your site would affect them and the way they appear on your website.

-It’s possible you may want to offer different options to users on different devices or interfaces. Creating this option is difficult to do like the idea of Responsive Website Design is to achieve a look that is flexible for all interfaces.

Other Cool Perks

Responsive website vs. Mobile-friendly website

-It is important to distinguish the difference between these two options. Forbes put out an article on Responsive Web Design and why it should be used over mobile-friendly sites, highlighting the differences between these two and also provided a number of other features. Responsive design bases your template on screen size and not individual devices. 

This is beneficial because no matter what new technology comes out in the future, as long as there is a screen, your website will still look beautiful! Designing your website to specifically fit one mobile device risks the chance that you may have to redesign your site again once a new device comes out, which is both cost heavy and includes downtime for consumers.

Tech-savvy/User-friendly

HubSpot says that consumers are 67% more likely to purchase from your website or use your services if they have a positive mobile experience. Responsive Website Design ensures that your site will be tailored to specifically cater to a mobile user’s needs, as well as users on computers, tablets and more.

Summary

RWD is a tool for you to use on your website that will improve accessibility across all devices, giving your site a unique look for each screen size. Having this feature is key in ensuring consumers have an enjoyable experience on your website. The more enjoyable their experience, the more time they spend on your site; which will increase your site’s ranking in terms of SEO.

True Tamplin is a technology specialist, author, and public speaker. He writes on a broad range of technical topics including search engine optimization, cybersecurity, and technology relating to the interne

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