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Originally Posted On: https://www.ubiweb.ca/what-is-the-purpose-of-responsive-web-design

 

What Is the Purpose of Responsive Web Design?

Over 70% of visitors are more likely to return to your website if it’s optimized for their mobile device.

A recent survey found that one in six users won’t recommend your site if the design doesn’t work on their phone. Nearly half feel frustrated with non-mobile-friendly websites. Yet, over 90% use their smart device to browse online.

The solution is to provide a responsive web design experience. But what impact does that have on your business and what is the purpose of responsive web design?

This article provides a simple responsive web design guide that answers all of your questions.

Discover why mobile-first is now an essential ingredient of search engine optimization. Learn how responsive sites benefit you and your customers.

Read on to improve your users’ experience and SEO ranking by choosing an expert team of responsive designers.

One in six users won’t recommend your site if the design doesn’t work on their phone

A Short History of Website Design

Website design has come a long way since the first site went live in 1991.

 

Those early days required you to have a sizable screen to view content. You needed a mouse to click on links and interactive elements demanded Adobe Flash to operate.

 

It took Steve Jobs to introduce the iPhone in 2007 to change the web design process forever.

A smaller screen and touch interface meant that existing websites no longer functioned correctly. To read the content you needed to pinch and zoom. Navigation felt like a nightmare and Flash video drained the battery.

A More Responsive Web

In 2010, web designer Ethan Marcotte published an article called ‘Responsive Web Design’.

 

This new approach aimed to change designs to flow and fit any screen size or device. But responsive design means much more than just sizing text.

What Is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive design techniques ensure that content scales to match the user’s screen. That includes:

• Minimizing navigation menus
• Scaling images so they don’t stretch past the screen border
• Changing text size to make content easy to read

 

A good example of responsive design is a blog article that’s viewed on a phone, tablet, or computer.

 

A PC or laptop displays navigation links and images with blog navigation menus aligned to the right. A tablet turned to landscape mode might show a navigation bar but with fewer links and no blog menu. A phone will hide all navigation links and present a ‘burger’ menu at the top corner.

 

The process of writing the content remains the same but the layout changes depending on the viewport.

What Is the Purpose of Responsive Web Design?

Mobile phone usage now outnumbers traditional desktop Internet browsing. Failing to provide a great user experience (UX) for both means you’ll lose half of your audience.

 

A website should work on any device. It should not frustrate users but grant them access to your content and services. Responsive designs ensure that happens.

Mobile-First Design

Google now uses mobile-first indexing when ranking websites. If your website does not provide a responsive design you’re more likely to drop down the SEO list.

The mobile-first mindset was first introduced by Google in 2015.

 

The search engine giant recognized the shifting landscape in Internet browsing. As predicted, more people use their mobiles on Google Search now than ever before.

 

As Google wants to promote a positive UX they will push responsive sites higher than out-of-date designs.

Benefits of Responsive Sites

Updating a traditional design or creating a responsive site from scratch brings many benefits.

 

Firstly, it will increase traffic as you aim to reach a higher volume of mobile users. Visitors to your site won’t bounce away as the design works automatically. This also leads to higher conversions and retention rates.

 

We’ve already mentioned an improved SEO ranking but issues like loading speed play an important part too.

 

Responsive sites are designed to be fast. Images load when required and look great on high-definition displays. Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics use these statistics as a ranking factor so that impacts your SERPs position too.

Low Code Means Low Cost

Some web designers insist on creating multiple websites for different screen sizes. This flies in the face of ‘responsive’ and will double your costs.

 

A team of responsive web designers like Ubiweb will create the site of your dreams that’s easy to update. Whether it’s an Android phone or an iMac, the site will work on all modern browsers. And you won’t pay twice the cost!

Responsive Web Design Tips

If you’re still unsure whether you need a responsive website then consider the following tips.

 

1. Check Analytics for Mobile Usage

Review your visitor statistics to see how many use a mobile device. Also, check your bounce rate i.e. the percentage of people who leave your site within seconds.

 

If your bounce rate’s high and you attract a large mobile user base then the reason could be a poor user interface (UI).

 

2. Navigation Considerations

Work with the design team to craft your navigation menu.

 

List all of the major links on your website then group them by order of importance. A mobile navigation menu is often compacted into one button so which links should appear first when it’s clicked?

 

3. Image and Script Optimization

Google and your users love websites that load quickly.

 

The reason why sites load at a slug’s pace is because of too many images and JavaScript files. Optimizing them so that only necessary content downloads is an important part of responsive design.

 

Lazy loading or only loading content as it appears on the screen will help too.

Your Responsive Web Design Partner

What is the purpose of responsive web design? The goal is to provide the best user experience possible.

Users with a mobile device shouldn’t have to pinch to view content. Sadly, many companies haven’t updated their design in years and lose business as a result.

Ubiweb provides modern responsive web design packages crafted to match your unique brand.

Our designs are SEO voice friendly, fully optimized, and include 3 hours of updates per month. You can focus on running your business while finally being proud of your online presence.

Get in touch today to speak with our expert team to modernize your design.