The term responsive websites is today gaining immense importance in the world of digital marketing. So what exactly is responsive websites and why is it an important aspect of the growth and development of any company?
A web design and development technique, responsive design is aimed at creating a system that adapts to the screen of the user. In other words, it will optimize the user’s browsing experience by creating a flexible and responsive web page for the device that is being used to access it.
Today, mobile phones and tablets have completely transformed the manner in which websites are being viewed and accessed. According to various sources on the web, the number of people using smartphones will cross five billion by 2017.This means that considerable number of people are using the internet to search for products and services through multiple device like tablets and smartphones. Also, Google Analytics attribute 30-50% of website traffic to mobile phones and tablets which suggest that responsive design will become an important part of its search engine algorithm in 2014. The importance of responsive design can therefore not be undermined at any stage and it is important that organizations invest in it so that they are able to maximize their digital marketing strategy in the best possible manner.
The four main benefits of responsive design are as follows:
- A responsive website will help improve your Google Ranking –Â One of the major objectives of Google is to ensure excellent quality user experience to all its users. A responsive website that works seamlessly across devices ensures that the users have the best experience irrespective of the device. Hence, if a website focuses on good quality content and superior user experience on multiple types of devices, it will ensure that they are always ranked high on Google’s search engine results.
- A responsive website will ensure higher conversions –Â The importance of a good user experience is that it ensures higher conversions and results. Additionally, Google Analytics has proved that a responsive website ensures that users stay on the website for a longer duration which leads to lower bounce rate and increases conversion rates. This is the ideal goal of any digital marketing strategy and a responsive website is the best way to achieve this.
- A responsive website is cost effective –Â Having a responsive website means that it will become easier for you as you will have to maintain and manage content only for one site. This will become both cost-effective and less time consuming. A single administrative interface means that it can be easily optimized using layout and workflow tools so that you can manage the correct content in an enhanced manner across all types of devices.
- A responsive website improves your customers’ offline browsing experience as well – Responsive design is the ideal way that you connect to your audience with the help of quality content across devices. Further, a responsive design improves the offline browsing capabilities of HTML5 which means that your sites can be easily accessed even when the user is offline. Email, newsletters and content that are contained in hybrid HTML5 format will be consumed in a much higher degree as they do not always require an internet connection.
In the end, it is important to understand that competition in the market for brands and organizations will only increase in the future with advanced technology and new entrants. It is therefore important for your brand to stay ahead of this competition at all times. As the demand for unique and creative content increases, several factors arise with it like development and maintenance costs, enhanced visibility in search engines and higher conversion rates. It is only when these factors are addressed in a proper manner that your brand can ensure better profits and maximized use of potential. Also with the increasing use of tablets and smartphones, responsive website can truly help you to stay ahead of your competition and establish a strong and formidable market share as well.
About Author
Hitesh Dhawan
Founder of Neuronimbus, A digital evangelist, entrepreneur, mentor, digital tranformation expert. Two decades of providing digital solutions to brands around the world.
