Have you ever opened a website on a friend’s mobile and scrolled for ten seconds before returning to Google? If so, you know how many visitors do the same on your site, without ever telling you.
That silent exit is the most costly traffic stopper any business can suffer. But there’s good news – responsive web design prevents this, and more. In this guide, you’ll learn the nuts and bolts of responsive design and how it can benefit your business.
What Is Responsive Design in Web Development?
If you’ve wondered, ‘what is responsive design in web development’, we’ll help you understand. Responsive design is an approach to website development that allows one website to be readable and functional on any screen width.
Before responsive design, businesses had one website for desktops and laptops, and another – usually simpler – for mobile phones. This was costly and time-consuming. Responsive web design obviates the need for separate websites by allowing your site to adapt to any screen.
Think of it as water filling different containers – it takes on the shape of the container, without changing what it is. Similarly, responsive web design allows your website content to be readable and accessible on any device.
How Does Responsive Design Work?
Now that you know what responsive design is, you might be wondering, how does responsive design work? Responsive websites employ three techniques to make the site readable on any screen:
- Fluid grid. Instead of pixels (px), website widths are expressed in percentages (%). A 50% width column on a phone will fill half of its screen, as opposed to 700px on a desktop.
- Flexible images. All images on a responsive site scale with the screen size so that they will always fit in a given container.
- Media queries. Media queries are pieces of CSS code that allow the website to perform different actions based on the screen size.
Viewport setting is also used to inform browsers how to display content. In essence, media queries and viewport define responsive design, making the website easily readable on any device.
Responsive Design vs Adaptive Design
You might wonder, what is the difference between responsive and adaptive design? While both approaches solve the problem of websites not being readable on mobile phones, they do it in different ways.
As covered above, responsive design uses percentages and media queries to make the site readable on any screen.
Adaptive design uses predefined screen sizes. It essentially contains a few ready-made website designs that are activated as soon as you visit the site on a device with a certain screen width. For example, the website will look one way on desktops, another on large phones, and another on small phones.
While somewhat similar to responsive design, adaptive design is generally not recommended, as it can fail on intermediate screen sizes and require more frequent changes as new devices with varying screen sizes enter the market.
Mobile Responsive Design Benefits for Your Business
Now that you know what responsive design is, we can move on to the responsive design benefits for a business.
There is a lot that a mobile responsive website can do for you. A responsive design makes your website easier to access and more pleasant to use, resulting in more engaged visitors and more customers.
Responsive sites are also lower maintenance and faster to develop, as they are essentially one website instead of several. A mobile responsive website also performs better and will keep your audience engaged.
But what are the exact responsive design pros and cons for a business?
Mobile responsive design allows your website to be easily readable on any device, which is important for several reasons:
- User experience: A mobile responsive website is easier to read and more enjoyable to use, as users don’t have to pinch and zoom to read website content.
- Greater conversion: A mobile responsive website makes it easier to complete an action, such as filling out a form or clicking a ‘Call Now’ button. The result – higher conversion rates.
- Lower maintenance: Having one mobile responsive website is much easier to maintain than having to update multiple websites.
- Lower costs: Lower maintenance translates into lower costs, needed to keep your website online and relevant.
- Stronger brand image: A mobile responsive website is more pleasant to use, contributing to a stronger brand image.
In an era when the majority of web traffic comes from mobile devices, a mobile responsive website is practically a must. In some industries, over 50% of website visitors are on mobile devices. By having a non-responsive website, you turn away at least half of your potential customers.
Why Is Responsive Design Important for SEO?
One of the responsive design benefits for a business that is often overlooked is the boost it provides to your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. SEO is the process of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website from search engines such as Google. A responsive website design plays an important role in SEO, for the following reasons:
- One URL for all devices: With responsive design, all website traffic goes to one URL, helping you rank better on search engines.
- Increased dwell time: Websites that are pleasant to use have higher dwell time, meaning a larger percentage of visitors will stay on your website, increasing your rankings.
- Better ranking factors: A responsive website can improve other ranking factors, such as page speed and a lower bounce rate.
- Crawling: Search engine bots crawl responsive websites better, contributing to higher rankings.
Overall, a responsive website is often a higher quality website, which directly impacts your SEO. And the better your website is, the more likely it is to rank higher in search engine results.
Responsive Design and Local SEO
As mentioned above, a significant percentage of website visitors come from mobile devices. Perhaps even more significantly, a large percentage of mobile website visitors are searching for local businesses. In fact, a ‘near me’ search is often done on a mobile device.
Having a mobile responsive website is essential for local SEO, for a simple reason – it provides a better experience for potential customers.
A mobile responsive website offers larger touch targets, making it easier to navigate your website. It also utilizes the space better, offering more information, such as contact details, in a larger format. A mobile responsive website usually has a ‘Call Now’ button, as well as an embedded map. All these elements combine to offer a better customer experience, which will reflect positively on your local SEO.
How to Make a Website Responsive for Mobile
Now that you know what responsive design is and what it is good for, you might want to change or build your website to be responsive. How to make a website responsive for mobile devices depends largely on your starting point.
If you have an old, non-responsive website, it might be more cost-effective to build a new responsive website than to update the old one, depending on what technologies were used to build it.
If you’re using a content management system, such as WordPress, you can purchase a theme that has responsive design. You can also install plugins that will help you update your website to be more mobile responsive. Alternatively, you can use a mobile website builder, such as Wix.
If your website is large and complex, you might want to employ a professional to update your website to be responsive, as they will be able to advise the best way to proceed and ensure that your website remains accessible throughout the update. If you choose this route, make sure to select a company that is professional and communicates well.
Responsive Web Design Best Practices
Now that you’ve learned how to make websites responsive, it’s time to learn what responsive website best practices exist. Always design your website with mobile in mind. Don’t design the desktop version first, then try to squeeze in a mobile version. Always design mobile first, then desktop.
The same goes for other responsive design best practices:
- Typography: Always use large enough font sizes so that text can be read comfortably.
- Page speed: Make sure that your website loads quickly on mobile, as slow loading websites have higher bounce rates. Also, use website compression tools to reduce the size of website images without sacrificing quality.
- Forms: Keep forms as short as possible. On mobile, lengthy forms are often not completed.
- Pop-ups: Avoid intrusive pop-ups. Not only do they frustrate mobile users, but they also hurt your Google rankings.
- Test: Always test your website on different devices, screen sizes and resolutions. Don’t assume that it will work everywhere – test it!
Responsive Design Examples for Business Websites
Having studied the responsive design basics and responsive web design best practices, you might be interested in responsive design examples for business websites. The responsive design examples below can be found in most industries:
- A restaurant website that changes the orientation of the website from vertical to horizontal on phones to make it easier to read the menu. The ‘Reserve a Table’ button is also moved to be more accessible to a phone user.
- A service company website with a phone number that becomes a ‘Call Now’ button on mobile. This makes it easier for a potential customer to contact the company.
- An online store with product cards that take up two columns on a desktop, but rearrange to one column on a phone. The ‘Add to Cart’ and ‘Checkout’ buttons are also rearranged to be more phone-friendly.
- A clinic or beauty salon website that displays the clinic address, operating hours and a ‘Book Appointment’ button prominently on a phone.
As you can see, responsive design examples for business websites focus on making the website easier to use and more pleasant for the mobile user.
How to Test If Your Website Is Mobile Responsive
Having understood what mobile responsive design is, you might want to know how to test if your website is mobile responsive.
The easiest way is to use a mobile device and a laptop to test your website. Always test on at least two different devices.
On a laptop or PC, test your website by dragging the bottom right corner of your browser window to make it smaller. This simulates a mobile phone visiting your website.
You can also use the mobile emulators built into modern browsers to test your website on different devices.
Finally, you may want to use a third party tool, such as Google Lighthouse or Google PageSpeed Insights to check your website’s mobile responsiveness. You can also ask friends and family to test your website.
If something is uncomfortable or unintuitive to you on a mobile device, imagine how it will feel to someone else.
How Reach Skyline Can Help: Responsive Website Design & SEO Company
While knowing what responsive design is useful, the real test is in applying this knowledge. If you know what responsive website design is, and you want to know how to make a website responsive, but you don’t have the time or the expertise, don’t worry.
At Reach Skyline, we offer responsive website design and development services to interested businesses. We understand that a mobile responsive website is one of the most important investments that a business can make. That is why we recommend our clients build responsive websites that utilize responsive design best practices.
However, we know that responsive design is only part of the equation. That is why we offer SEO and local SEO services to businesses, helping them get found by the right people. We are committed to providing excellent customer service, open communication, and quality work.
Our customers can count on us for help – we don’t believe in handing over a website and walking away. We communicate with our customers and provide advice that is right for their business. We are honest and professional, and we will explain everything in simple terms.
Finally, we are a small company and we care about our customers. We will dedicate our time and resources to ensure that your website is built the right way. If you have any questions before speaking with us, you can browse our blog to learn more about website development, SEO or lead generation. We look forward to working with you!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is responsive design in simple words?
Responsive design is a method of website development that allows one website to be readable and functional on all screen sizes, from phones to desktop computers.
Is responsive design the same as mobile apps?
No, a responsive website is different from a mobile application. A responsive website is viewed in a browser, while a mobile app needs to be downloaded. Many businesses start with a responsive website, as it is usually faster and cheaper to develop.
Does responsive design affect Google ranking?
Google uses a mobile-first indexing methodology, which means that it primarily uses the mobile version of a website for indexing purposes. This means that responsive design can positively impact your Google ranking.
How much does a responsive website for a business cost?
The cost of a responsive website varies depending on several factors. A small business website will generally be less expensive than an e-commerce website. Please contact us for a detailed estimate.
Can existing websites be made responsive?
In many cases, yes. If an existing website can be upgraded to a responsive website design, we will recommend that. If the website needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, we will recommend that as well. A detailed analysis will be required to make a recommendation.
How long does it take to build a responsive website?
It depends on the size of the website and the complexity of the design. Generally speaking, a small business website can be built in a few weeks.
Conclusion
Responsive design is an absolute must for any modern business website. As more and more people use mobile phones to access the internet, a mobile responsive website will increase your conversions by providing a better experience for your customers. A responsive website is also better for search engine optimization, helping you get more visitors to your website.
From the way your website looks on a mobile device to the way it performs, all contribute to turning your visitors into customers. This guide gives you all the responsive design basics, as well as responsive web design best practices. You now know what responsive design is, how to make a website responsive and how responsive design can benefit your business.
At Reach Skyline, we specialize in building responsive websites that follow responsive design best practices. We also offer local SEO services to help your business get found by the right people. We care about our customers and we are committed to providing exceptional customer service and quality work.