More and more people are accessing the internet from their phones and other mobile devices. Indeed, according to a report from SimilarWeb, over half of the traffic to US websites in 2015 came from mobile devices. So, it is essential your website functions across all devices.
Responsive web design enables websites to adapt to the size of the user’s viewport. The content of the site is rendered differently depending on the device being used or the size of the screen. That means website visitors have an optimal experience, regardless of how they access a site. Check out the following six benefits of responsive web design.
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1. Fast Loading
Various studies have concluded that if a web page takes more than three seconds to finish loading, a visitor is more likely to abandon the website. Responsive web design optimizes websites for devices like smartphones and tablets so that they load quickly. Ensure your website uses performance techniques like caching and responsive image display to improve the loading speed of web pages. To make sure your site has responsive web design, and provides an optimized browsing experience across all common devices, consider hiring a professional web design company.
2. Cost Saving
Creating a responsive website takes much less time than developing a stand-alone mobile application and a standard desktop site. Therefore, responsive design costs less than the alternative. You will also save money on things like configuration costs and maintenance costs. Maintaining a separate mobile site requires additional testing and support, whereas a responsive design employs standardized testing methodologies to ensure every screen for every device has optimal-layout.
3. Lower Bounce Rates
Responsive and optimized web design creates a fantastic user experience for the site visitor. That means users are more likely to stay on the website for longer and explore the different pages and features of the site. If a website is not responsive, visitors will not be as engaged, and are more likely to bounce.
4. Better Analytics Reporting
Having a single responsive website massively simplifies the monitoring process so you can know where traffic is coming from and how users are interacting with the site. It is vital you keep abreast of your website’s analytics so that you can create informed improvements where necessary. But that can be a lengthy and challenging process if you have multiple versions of a website. Tools like Google Analytics now cater to responsive websites by condensing all the tracking and analytics information into a single report, so it is easy to see how the website is performing across different devices.
5. Improved Search Engine Optimization
Having quality content on your website is important for SEO, but responsive web design is equally as crucial. A responsive website has stronger backlinks and better bounce rates, which translates into higher rankings on search engines. Furthermore, a responsive website avoids the problem of duplicate content, which can negatively impact SEO rankings.
6. Improved Online and Offline Experiences
Responsive website design means users do not have to spend time zooming, shrinking, and pinching to be able to view content clearly. Without a responsive website, visitors will soon get bored with having to resize content, and they will head to a competitive website instead. But responsive web design does not only improve the online experience. It is also fantastic for offline viewing. Many tablets and smartphones are now HTML5 enabled, which means it is easy to view content on a responsive website without needing an internet connection.