**Have you looked at your website on a mobile phone or tablet device lately? Chances are if you haven’t, and it hasn’t been built responsively, it’s going to be bit of a mess. **
With the new smartphone culture taking over the world it is now easier than ever to access websites on the move. Over the past few years the amount of ways to view a website has grown dramatically. With laptops, tablets and smartphones it is now essential to have a web design that is going to fit any screen resolution.
Because of this, (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/digital/mobile-responsive/ text: responsive web design popup: true title: Mobile and Responsive) is now being considered the norm when building a new site.
**What is Responsive Web design? **
“But what is responsive web design?!” I hear you cry!
Responsive design is the process of building a website that will fit any platform and any screen size. This is done automatically using CSS media queries that detect the size of the screen and adjust it accordingly. Here are a number of great examples:
– (link: http://foodsense.is/ text: http://foodsense.is/)
– (link: http://clearairchallenge.com/ text: http://clearairchallenge.com)
– (link: http://www.webdesigndev.com/web-development/10-incredible-examples-of-responsive-web-design text: http://www.webdesigndev.com/web-development/10-incredible-examples-of-responsive-web-design)
**So why is responsive important? **
Gone are the days of kids playing in the street with bikes and footballs, it’s now iPhones and iPads.
No longer does a man need to watch TV through a shop window to keep up with the footy scores, whilst shopping with the girlfriend. Everyone is now getting information on the move through their smartphones and our websites need to be useable for all.
But don’t take our word for it.
The stats show that by 2013 it is expected that mobile internet users will overtake desktop users to become the dominate global internet platform. And by 2015, there will be over 1.9 Billion mobile internet users compared to the current 800 million users.
Responsive design is also about usability.
Some responsive sites will filter content as the size shrinks to keep the most important information easily visible on a smaller screen. If a user on a phone is using their finger to navigate the site rather than a mouse, it needs to be user friendly and clear where the information is. For example a mobile responsive design would typically feature a clear navigation and bigger buttons.
In the future, more people will be visiting your website through a mobile device rather than the conventional desktop PC. If it’s not responsive you could be losing out on sales..
Maybe a graphic of current amount of phone users compared to desktop users and then the projected amount in 2015
**Good for SEO**
Responsive web design can also help your (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/digital/search-engine-optimisation-seo/ text: search engine optimisation (SEO) popup: true title: Search Engine Optimisation) and is recommended by Google in their Webmaster Guidelines.This is great news as you won’t be penalised by search engines for designing your site responsively.
As a whole, responsive design is good for SEO. This is because no matter what the platform is, the URL and the content stay the same. This is opposed to a separate mobile site with duplicated content.
**Mobile Apps **
Why not go one step further, and consider (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/digital/web-mobile-apps/ text: mobile apps popup: true title: Web and Mobile Apps)? Mobile apps are targeted directly at smartphones and tablets, and allow for more functionality then a website.
A lot of people would be lost without their Facebook or Twitter app – they make it much simpler to keep updated on the move. Apps can also be another form of income with chargeable apps and ads-on’s.
While mobile apps are best for getting the most out of smartphone capabilities and controlling a user’s experience, they can be expensive to build and are impossible to get ranked by the search engines, meaning no SEO!
**The bottom line**
Without doubt responsive web design is going to be sticking around for a while.
A responsive design should be seriously considered when planning a new website, as it is future proof. It is much easier to design a website to be responsive in the first place, rather than converting it after it’s built.
Why not (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/contact/ text: talk to us popup: true title: Contact) about making your website responsive? As (link: http://superdream.co.uk/creative/web-design/ text: Midlands web design) specialists, we can help you make your mark on the World Wide Web.