Friday 1 July 2016

My Useful Guide: Going Responsive


In the last couple of years smartphones and tablets have become more and more a part of everyday life.

With mobile devices now tipping the scale and coming out on top for internet users, how should you utilise this growing trend?

The answer, go responsive
The way in which people view online information has been changing quickly and your website needs to keep up. Loading a full website on a small phone screen is impractical and not very user friendly. 



Responsive websites however, adjust their layout to suit the dimensions of the screen. Re-flowing content into columns and even allowing non-vital content to be switched off. Not only that but they utilise the touch screen gestures such as swipe, pinch and tap.


Advantages of going responsive
These days it’s all about having a positive user experience. So many of us spend our lunch breaks, train and bus journeys, just about any free time we have on our smartphone scrolling through social media outlets, internet shopping or just browsing sites. The more user friendly, the more time we spend on the site and the more likely we are to revisit, make a purchase or enquire.

Consider that 15 seconds is all we have to capture somebodies interest online, it’s important to make sure that all the vital information is easy to find. You should treat your website like a shop window, grab the viewers attention by showing appropriate information and the best of what you have to offer. Unlike a normal website, responsive sites know how to handle content on mobile devices, ultimately improving your brand image and keeping surfers happy.

Something else to bear in mind is the power of social media. Over half of social media browsing happens on mobile devices. Links and shares direct people to your website via phones or tablets. Responsive is a must, if you are going to make the most of those potential leads.

Invest a bit of time and effort into SEO (search engine optimisation). Not only are responsive websites better for users but they are also preferred and recommended by Google for online rankings. Use key words and content rich text to help boost your position in the search results. Google loves responsive sites and rewards you for it. Previously a mobile friendly website would have been entirely separate to the main site, meaning the online rankings would be effected. Links are consolidated to just one site with the new style of responsive websites, boosting your position on the results page.

With internet shopping on the increase, growing numbers of on-the-go internet surfers and mobile phones overtaking desktops as the preferred choice of browsing - why pass up the opportunity of all that marketing and sales potential. Investing a bit of time and money into going responsive and improving user experience could significantly improve your online presence and client leads.

Alternatively have a look at some of the websites we have designed by clicking on the links below: