Why you need a “responsive design” website
What is responsive design?
Responsive web design is one of the most important features of your website. A website is deemed “responsive” when it is designed and programmed to automatically reformat itself depending on the device on which it is viewed. The layout of any site should look its best and respond to viewers’ needs whether viewed on a desktop, tablet, laptop or smart phone. To accomplish that, the site needs to be “fluid.” All components including navigation, images, text content, and forms must reconfigure themselves to maximum advantage visually for the optimum user experience.
Why design responsively?
In April of 2015, the Pew Research Center reported that 68% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, up from 35% of adults in 2011. As many as 19% of adult smartphone owners report that have no other easy option for getting online other than their cell phone.
If your website is not responsive, mobile device users are far more likely to leave the site because it is too hard to navigate, to read content, or to view images.
How your site is ranked on mobile searches
Your website will actually be “punished” in terms of Google rankings if it is not responsive. Google processes 2/3 of all searches world-wide and as of April 21, 2015, Google announced that any website that is not mobile-friendly would lose ranking points and be listed much further down in a search.
Making your site responsive is one of the best ways to enhance your SEO (search engine optimization.) Insuring that it loads more quickly is another. More on that in a subsequent post.
Responsive websites are much easier for users to share
With the explosive growth in the use of social media, millions of users every day share their viewing experiences with friends or colleagues. This is particularly true on smart phones and other mobile devices. Your site is far more likely to be recommended to others if it is easy to navigate, easy to view and attractively presented. The only way to ensure that user experience is to have a responsive website.
Great Island knows responsive design
For nearly three years, every website that Great Island has created is responsive. We make sure our customers have every advantage of quality look & feel, SEO, bullet-proof programming, and maximum control over content no matter what device is being used to view their website.
Talk to us about your next website!