What is a Responsive Website?
The way we view a website has changed massively since the early days of the Internet. Gone are the days of dial up broadband and chunky desktop computers and in comes 4G mobile Internet and a wide assortment of Internet friendly mobile devices.
Todays websites not only need to be functional on the humble desktop computer but also on laptops of all shapes and sizes, mobile phones, tablets, TV’s and everything in-between. It’s not necessarily about making a website for a laptop screen and a mobile phone, it’s about making sure your content is available to all users no matter how they want to view it.
A responsive website is fluid, you’ll be able to view the same website on an iPhone and on a 50” smart TV. The fundamentals of the website stay the same, the clever part is that the website moulds its content to suit the device it’s being viewed on. Items on the website will arrange themselves into a fashion suitable for each device, for instance a page on a large screen may have more text and larger images but on a mobile screen just have easy to read, clear text boxes.
Some of the best practices for responsive websites include using large clear navigation options, finger friendly buttons, a modular layout and clear call to actions, high up on the page and the list goes on.
Why Responsive?
Tablet and mobile phone users now make up 25% of the online market in the UK and this is figure is constantly increasing. With 44% of these mobile users reporting problems viewing static websites. Problems with web pages means users leave or see your product in a bad light. And with the average user spending 31 minutes on mobile devices a day, its valuable customers you may be losing.
Making a website suitable for mobile devices and tablets used to be an after thought and an extra cost to businesses. Responsive website design is cost effective, time effective and can improve the users experience ultimately resulting in a valuable sales tool.
Any Alternatives?
We understand that it may not be realistic to redevelop your entire site. With this in mind there is a way you can still engage with a growing market of mobile users.
Having a mobile version of your website is a great way of making sure you don’t deter mobile users. Although not as flexible as a responsive website a mobile site can offer your users an easy to use, ‘lite’ version of your website.
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