Why Responsive Design Beats Out Your Mobile Site
We’re so accustomed to being able to pull out our phones and access a site to find the answers we are looking for. But have you ever tried to access a website on your phone or tablet that wasn’t optimized for use on your particular screen—or worse, wasn’t optimized for a mobile site at all?
In 2019, 52.6 percent of web browsing was conducted on mobile sites. There’s no ignoring the fact that your prospective clients and customers may be viewing your website on a phone or tablet or their laptop. But if your website isn’t designed to be easy to use on any screen, they may not stay on your site for long.
About Mobile Web Design
What is a mobile site? Mobile-friendly sites were created as a way to make web browsing of a particular page easier on a mobile device like a cellphone or a tablet—and Google started favoring websites that had mobile-friendly sites when it updated its algorithm in 2015. It started indexing these mobile sites for searches in 2018.
But mobile websites aren’t meant to do much besides look good on a phone screen. There might be glitches, and it could end up being incredibly challenging to navigate.
About Responsive Design
So how does responsive design compare to mobile-friendly sites? Responsive design, unlike mobile design, works on any screen size. It has dynamic content that changes and adapts to the screens your visitors are using and adjusts images, text and loading time to match the device. The text on a particular page might switch from a three-column layout to a single-column layout that’s easier to see if you’re reading on a phone screen instead of your laptop.
The main point of responsive design is that it reacts with the user in mind so that the website is as functional and usable as possible, no matter what device is being used.
How do you know if a website has a responsive design? You can test it out on your desktop computer by changing and shrinking the size of the browser window. If the text and images adjust to match your new screen size, it’s a responsive site.
Why Is a Responsive Design So Much Better?
A mobile-friendly site doesn’t change, regardless of the screen that’s being used. The functionality doesn’t change, drop-down menu navigation is limited, and nothing changes except the scale of the site.
A mobile-friendly website is like having the bare minimum. It checks the boxes in terms of being available on a mobile device. It’s essentially a copy of your desktop website. One of the main reasons it’s not as helpful? None of the functionality is improved or changed based on the kind of device on which the user is accessing the site.
But with a responsive-designed site, it looks different on whatever device you use to access it. When you visit the site using a full browser window on a desktop computer, it displays the full website as created. On a tablet or cellphone, the layout might be slightly different, and the navigation will display differently.
Why is this so important? It’s a lot harder to click through navigation with your fingertip on a tiny screen. Responsive design makes it easier.
Why else should you use a responsive design?
- Lower maintenance costs: Not having a desktop site and a mobile site means when you make changes to your website, you only have to make changes once, not twice. You pay your developers less money with the same results. And if you’re doing your web development yourself? You have more time to dedicate to the things that really matter in your business.
- A better user experience: Unresponsive designs can distort what it is your users see when they visit your site on various mobile devices. With a responsive design, you ensure that it’s easier to use your website.
- It improves your SEO score: A responsive website has a better chance of getting a higher ranking on a SERP—and getting noticed by new potential customers and clients. Even Google recommends responsive design.
Is it time to switch from an outdated mobile site to a responsive design? Let Webbege help you join your desktop site and your mobile site into one, all-encompassing, responsive site.
Webbege is well versed in web development and web design and branding, which means we can help you turn your website into a responsive site that works on every screen with a stellar design to match.
Ready to learn more? Contact us today.
