Why is Responsive Web Design Important?
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Responsive Web Design…
Like a lot of people, you’ve probably got a functioning desktop site and a great mobile site, so you most likely haven’t given it much thought.
To be sure, for many businesses, there are far more pressing matters to attend to than transitioning perfectly good desktop and mobile websites to a responsive platform – you know what they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
However, it never hurts to start thinking about the future and there are a few circumstances to keep in mind when it makes sense to consolidate your separate desktop and mobile sites into a single, responsive site.
Why is Responsive Web Design Important?
Ten years ago most people only accessed the internet through a standard computer or laptop.
For years websites were developed to look good on these screens and no thought was given to any other shapes or sizes.
The last ten years have shattered this structure. We’ve gone from one device to many.
Instead of just a computer you can now access websites from phones, tablets, game systems, internet connected TVs and the list just keeps getting longer.
Responsive web design is the web design answer to a growing world of devices that span all shapes and sizes. The goal is to make one beautiful website that is easy to use and takes advantage all the features available regardless of your device.
At its core it’s an ideal; a best practice that makes it so that every visitor your site gets is happy with what they see and finds relevant information and calls-to-action with ease.
When it’s done right responsive design is a beautiful thing that increases engagement due to ease of use. When it’s done right it goes beyond just showing the same content in a different sized screen and instead adds functionality and strips away unnecessary content.
Lets draw a quick analogy: Let’s say we have a four-foot-tall person and a seven-foot-tall person and they’re looking for a house.
These two people are unlikely to want the same sort of house simply because living in a house that’s built to accommodate the needs of a seven-foot-tall person will leave the four-foot-tall person struggling and vice versa.
The best solution would be if the house could transform to fit the user, making the shelves more reachable for a shorter person, making the doors and shower taller for a tall person.
Obviously this is wildly impractical to implement with houses but it’s exactly what we can do in responsive web design.
Responsive web design is a great way to create a more cohesive website experience.
Your current desktop site may have a design that you’re happy with, and your mobile site could look great too, but how close are they actually to each?
Creating a responsive website generally means choosing a template that’s pre-designed to have a similar look and feel across desktop, tablet and mobile.
This guarantees that no matter what device your visitors are on, they’ll recognize they’re in the right place right away.
There are a lot of reasons to consider going responsive- far more than we listed here. But hopefully, these will provide a little food for thought and help you make the decision of whether or not you’re ready to make the move to multi-screen.
