Top 4 Reasons You Need Responsive Web Design in 2021

Have you ever opened a website on your phone and the text and images are the wrong size? Or the icons or menu options show up in completely the wrong places? An important part of building a website is making sure it can respond appropriately to whatever size screen you are using, whether you are on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device. This is called having a responsive web design.

What’s the big deal? you may think. Is having a responsive web design really so important that you need to spend time or money setting it up? The answer is–absolutely, and here’s why.

1. Mobile-Friendly is More Important Than Ever

The majority of browsers are using the internet on their phones, which means websites need to be mobile-friendly in order to accommodate the more-than-50% of their visitors. If a website is too difficult to use on a phone, it will lose visitors, which will hurt both the SEO of the site and the site’s business. If you are an e-commerce site, for example, you definitely don’t want to lose half your customers because they can’t shop on your site from their phones.

Additionally, most people browse social media while on their phones. If you post on social media and link to your site, you are going to get an increase in mobile traffic, which means you want your site to accommodate all those mobile users. If your website doesn’t work well on phones, you are going to lose visitors.

2. Good for SEO

Search engines use a variety of information to determine your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) value. Important factors in SEO are how many visitors a site gets and the bounce rate–meaning how quickly a visitor bounces away from your site, showing the site’s relevancy or non-relevancy. If your site can’t be used properly on a phone, mobile visitors will bounce away quickly, showing search engines that your site is not giving users what they are looking for. This lowers your site’s SEO value. Search engines monitor overall user experience on your site, and responsive web design definitely enhances user experience!

3. Cost-Effective Solution to Mobile Sites

In the past, many companies had two separate sites–one for desktops and one for mobile devices. However, it is more expensive to manage two sites than it is one. It is also easier to update information on one site rather than having to make sure both sites are up-to-date. Dealing with one site rather than two provides a higher return on investment and makes your life easier.

4. Look Great On Any Device

You want visitors to your site to be impressed with your brand and trust your company. That means you want your website to accommodate their needs no matter what device they are using–even something as small as a smartwatch! If your website is more “old school” and not able to adapt to the changes in technological devices, visitors might lose faith in your brand. Show your potential customers and clients that you pay attention to their needs by staying up-to-date with a responsive web design.

At Thump Local, our expert website team will advise you on best web practices, including responsive web design. We will work closely with you to make sure your website looks exactly the way you want it to while making sure that it performs well on all devices and for all users. Let us help your website thrive in the ever-changing world of technology!