Back in the old days of the internet, getting a website for your business meant hiring someone to create a set of static pages to be viewed on a desktop screen. Fast forward just a few short years and 20% of adult Americans access the internet only through their smart phones. A 2017 report found that mobile traffic accounts for 63% of all web traffic in the US. And Google has recently announced that it has moved to mobile-first indexing, which means they’ve gone from using the desktop version of a site to determine ranking to using the mobile version. All of this adds up to the clear message that creating a website primarily for a desktop screen, and ignoring other screens, is no longer sufficient. Or good for business.
Responsive Design Is a Must
As a business owner, it is imperative that you make sure your website looks good and performs well on any screen it is displayed on. If a visitor visits your site on a mobile screen and the font and buttons are too small or the images don’t display correctly, they will most likely bounce on to another site eventually giving their dollars to your competitors instead of you.
Responsive design makes sure that the content on your website adapts to any screen. Web developers who are skilled in responsive design don’t have to create separate sites for different devices. They build in special features that make sure your website knows what kind of screen it’s about to be displayed on and adjusts accordingly.
Design that provides this kind of versatility in one site- not separate ones for desktop and mobile- provides a good experience to all of your potential customers, saves your marketing team having to maintain multiple sites and ultimately saves you money.
How Do I Know If My Site Needs Responsive Design?
Responsive design is currently the industry standard but if your site was created some time back or if it was created by someone who isn’t trained in responsive design, your site may be less mobile-friendly than it should be. You can test how well your website responds to mobile screens by taking Google’s mobile-friendly test. This test will reveal whether or not your site meets minimum requirements for mobile-friendliness and some specific issues your page might be experiencing.
Whether the test reveals issues or not, it’s also a good idea to ask a professional to audit your site. Scissortail Creative offers website audits absolutely free of charge. Contact us today if you’d like us to help you identify ways that we could make your site more responsive.