5 REASONS WHY YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD BE RESPONSIVE
A website is one of the most powerful tools in every online marketer’s toolbox. It is one of the most effective channels for communicating with customers and showcasing one’s products or services. Because of that, having a business website has become an absolute necessity for each and every business owner, regardless of the industry they operate in.
With the Internet usage skyrocketing over the past several years and the use of mobile devices increasing exponentially with each coming day, having a website where you can successfully promote your business is critical now more than ever. In fact, more than half of all Internet searches now come from mobiles, which is exactly why you should think about providing mobile users, instead of only desktop users, with the best possible user experience when they are checking out your website.
Can your website provide all of its visitors with a seamless user experience? Does it have what it takes to attract new users and help you gain more customers? If not, you should invest in a responsive web design as soon as possible, as it will help you improve your business on many crucial levels.
What does a responsive web design mean? It is an approach to web design that allows a website to adjust itself to any screen size and resolution it is being viewed on in order to optimize user experience. A responsive website resizes itself and appears differently on each and every type of device – from the smallest smartphone to the biggest tablet and all the way up to laptops and desktop monitors.
Therefore, in order to improve the user experience of all of your website visitors and, as a result, gain many more customers whom you can engage in your brand and, thus, increase your sales, you need to make your website responsive. Here are the most significant reasons why you should do that, so read on to understand the importance of a responsive web design and the impact it can have on your business.
One Website for All Devices
Since a responsive website automatically adjusts itself to the screens of the devices it is being viewed on, there is no need to have two separate websites for your business to provide both mobile users and desktop users with a better user experience.
Many business owners have been there – built a regular website and then a separate mobile website in order for all of their website visitors to be able to easily access their content. However, having two websites calls for much bigger costs, since both of them need to be maintained and updated regularly, which is, without a doubt, much more expensive than maintaining one single website.
Furthermore, maintaining two separate websites can take a lot of your time that you can focus on accomplishing more pressing tasks at hand and improving your overall business.
Therefore, if your website is responsive, there would be no need to build a separate mobile website, so not only will you save a lot of time and money, but you will also have only one URL and save your visitors quite some time when searching for your products or services online, regardless of the devices they are using.
Better User Experience
User experience is key for having a successful website, so you should do everything you can in order to provide your every visitor with the best possible user experience. Obviously, one way to do that is to make your website responsive, since that way, you will have a user-friendly website that doesn’t make your visitors annoyed and frustrated, thus making them bounce back to search results to find what they are looking for somewhere else, never to return again.
If your website is not responsive, your visitors will have to zoom in to be able to read your content and then they will have to scroll both horizontally and vertically in order to read the full content. If they need to fill out some forms, that would be even more frustrating for them since, apart from the annoying zooming in and scrolling, more often than not, it happens that the users are back to square one after entering the needed information into each box. Hence, they would have to zoom in all over again.
This is especially important if you are running an ecommerce store on your website. If you do not provide your customers with the benefits of a responsive website, you will risk losing quite a large number of them, because they will simply leave and try and find another online store where they can find what they are looking for more quickly and easily. More importantly, you will risk losing a lot of revenue and, thus, risk losing your business.
Therefore, a great user experience is absolutely one of the most important elements of a successful website, so you need to make sure that you remove all the barriers and allow all of your users to navigate through your website with ease, so that they can have the best possible experience.
Reduced Bounce Rates
How many times have you visited a website that took forever to load and made you bounce back after staring at a blank browser window for several seconds, or even longer? Don’t expose your website visitors to the same frustration, but provide them with a seamless experience that will have them coming back for more whenever they need information only you can provide them with.
Therefore, you need to make your website responsive, since it will load much faster and, thus, help you reduce your bounce rates. Page load time is the number one reason why people leave a website and search for another. In fact, a 2-second delay in page load time can make your bounce rates go up to 87%, which is quite a lot, so make sure you optimize your page load time by investing in a responsive web design.
If your website is not responsive, your bounce rates will only keep getting higher, since each and every person who visits your website via a mobile device will simply bounce back to the search results and find some other source of information they need. What’s more, they will certainly not return to your website again, which is something you simply cannot afford to let happen.
Increased Conversion Rates
People are more likely to do business with a company that adapts to the latest trends and innovations in technology so, if they come across a website that is not up-to-date with the latest web technologies and does not provide them with a great user experience, they will certainly not think twice about leaving the website and moving on to its competition.
This is especially important for ecommerce businesses, since having a responsive website can help you gain quite a lot more customers, especially because people are increasingly using their mobile devices to make online purchases. In fact, 68% of online shoppers are more likely to purchase from a company if it has a mobile-friendly website, while 74% say that they will certainly visit a website again if it is responsive.
Therefore, having a responsive website can help you attract quality leads that you can convert into purchasing customers and, thus, significantly increase your conversion rates. It goes without saying that you will generate more revenue and increase your ROI, since you will undoubtedly increase your sales.
Google Prefers Responsive Websites
On April 21st 2015, Google rolled out another one of its numerous updates regarding its ranking algorithm that stated that each and every website must be responsive. Otherwise, it will get penalized in terms of its SEO ranking.
Therefore, if you make your website responsive, Google will rank it higher in search engines and improve your SEO ranking. As a result, you will receive higher website traffic, which is very valuable when it comes to your overall business, since more people will be coming to check out what you have to offer, thus increasing your chances of converting them into your customers, increasing your sales and generating more income.
If you do not make your website responsive, it will not be able to appear among the first results in search engines, no matter how much you invest in your on-page and off-page SEO.
Final Words
By now, you have certainly realized that having a responsive website is not simply a nice feature, but a necessity that can significantly impact your business growth. Food for thought: 91% of all businesses still do not have a responsive website so, by having one, you will definitely have the upper hand on the market. By staying ahead of the game, you will manage to stay ahead of your competition.
Therefore, get in touch with some of the best professional responsive web designers and choose one that will provide you with the best possible service and help you improve your website. Invest in a responsive web design and you will be investing in your company’s future.
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