A responsive website means the website’s design responds to different screen sizes across a variety of devices. What a website looks like on a desktop computer won’t be the same for a mobile device. It is also referred to as a mobile-friendly website. Depending on the width and orientation of your device’s screen, a responsive website will flow and respond accordingly.
What does a responsive website look like?
One way you can test to see if a website is responsive is by going into your browser tools and adjusting the width. If you’re on your phone, a tell that indicates a website isn’t optimized for mobile is you are required to zoom in. Text will be very small and hard to read.
For desktop users, follow these steps (may vary depending on your browser):
Google Chrome, Edge, and Firefox:
- Press F12 on your keyboard (Some computers will require you to use the Fn key)
- Press ctrl+shift+m (Cmd for Mac users)
- Click and drag the screen size left and right to see how a site flows. If there’s no change, the site is not responsive.
This is a responsive website!
Examples of sites that are responsive:
Examples of sites that are NOT responsive:
- https://dequeuniversity.com/library/responsive/1-non-responsive
- http://www.alpha1teclabs.com/
- https://whitecourtweb.com/biz_dir/business_R.htm
Notice how these sites are not moving or some of the text images are cut off.
Why should you have a responsive site?
A responsive site improves the overall look of your site as well as speed, SEO, and user experience. Compared to a website that isn’t designed for multiple screen sizes, a responsive site has smaller optimized images that decrease loading times. You’ll also notice that text is much smaller on a non-responsive site, making the user zoom in on their device to read it properly. This is BAD user experience. After all, you want people to stay on your site to browse your products and services.
Overall, a responsive website means:
Better user experience:
People are more likely to stay on your website because it will be easier to use.
Decreased loading times:
Smaller images optimized for mobile devices means your site will load faster on mobile devices.
Ranking higher in Google:
Google has moved to mobile-first indexing. This means it’s going to consider how your website looks on mobile.
Increased Time Spent on your Website:
Users are more likely to stay on your website with a mobile-friendly website design. Another bonus to your site’s SEO.
Cost and Time Savings:
Mobile-friendly websites are easier to update and manage. Therefore, you are spending less money to update your website and saving time so you can focus on more important tasks.
Better Chances of Referrals:
Increase the chance of users referring your website to others. 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.
Who uses mobile-friendly websites?
Over 50% of users are navigating websites on their mobile devices. In this modern age, your website should be optimized for mobile as that’s almost half of your potential customers. Just like you would in-store, offering great customer service comes with a great experience. The same logic applies to your website.
How do you make a responsive website?
With tons of resources and services online, it might be overwhelming on where to start building your responsive website. At AB Web, we provide a free quote to get you started and answer all your questions. We have over 10 years of experience working with mobile-friendly websites and are professionals in SEO. Contact us today to build your website.
