As you look into developing a new website, you’ll probably hear about the concept of responsive design. Simply put, a website built with responsive design displays consistently, no matter what device or screen size a visitor is using. A responsive website looks generally the same whether you view it on your smartphone or your desktop computer — and even if you change the size of your browser window.
This requires flexibility within your website’s design. You need to build something that reconfigures logically no matter what screen it’s displayed on — and there are a lot of screens out there! So whether you fully understand all of the principles of responsive design or not, it’s vitally important that your website is built to be responsive.
Here’s why.
Responsive Design Provides Consistency
A website built with responsive design will look slightly different depending on the kind of screen you view it on, but the content and function will remain the same. For example, an email link on a smartphone screen will perform the same way as an email link on a laptop screen.
It’s important to remember that responsive design isn’t simply squeezing everything into the space that’s available — it’s about creating a clean, consistent design that responds to users no matter what device or platform they’re using.
You’ll Lose Customers Without It
According to research by Google, the vast majority — 90 percent — of people move between devices to accomplish their goals. These devices can include smartphones, desktop or laptop computers, TVs and tablets. A customer may see a commercial on TV, research the product on a website, and then later find the store on their smartphone, for example. By ensuring your website performs the same way on all those devices, you’ll hold onto those customers as they learn about your product or service and move down the path toward a purchase.
Providing a consistent online experience is especially important if you have an eCommerce site. Buying something from your website should feel the same to users whether they’re on a desktop, tablet or smartphone. There should be the same number of clicks or taps, and they should be able to find product information in the same way on every device.
Responsive Design Saves Time, Effort and Money
Putting together a website with responsive design is efficient. When you design one website that can be viewed across multiple devices, you won’t spend time reformatting everything to fit different screen sizes. It’s easier to ensure your content is correct across the board and website functions are consistent, and to make changes when necessary.
Responsive design is about more than simply creating a mobile site for your business. It’s understanding that the user experience should be consistent no matter how your customers are visiting your site; your website should tell the same story on every device. And website developers should be incorporating responsive web design into the work they do for clients; if your web developer doesn’t use responsive design, that may be a red flag.