Fit It on the Screen: The Importance of Responsive Web Design

July 14, 2016
Person Using a Phone and Laptop

With so many devices on the market—smartphones, iPhones, iPads, tablets, and more—mobile and tablet web browsing has become more popular than desktop browsing. Every device has a unique screen size, resolution, and overall display features, but it would be impossible to design a new version of every website to fit each device. So how can web developers ensure that the websites they create are compatible with every device for every user? The answer is, they need to implement a responsive web design!

What exactly is responsive web design? This method of design allows the layout of a site to change with the screen size. Wide screens can display multiple columns while a narrow screen can display the same content in a single column. Links and images also need to fit on each screen size appropriately. When this type of design is done correctly, the website will respond to the screen size, resolution, and other settings of the device the viewer is using.

Responsive web design is an important and essential benefit for small business websites for many reasons. Before responsive design, a separate mobile version of each site had to be created in order for it to display on anything other than a desktop or laptop, which cost clients more money and took more time to create. Now, a developer can create one fluid design for each site that works well on any device, expediting the web design process so clients can get their site on the web sooner.

Another essential benefit of responsive design is that the same information will be available on multiple devices. In the past, mobile only versions of websites usually contained less information than the full desktop site to decrease load time. Because responsive design eliminates this second “version” of your website, all content, images, links, and features are available on any device, providing support for the multiple device user. Similarly, when you need to make updates to your website, you’ll only need to make them once, saving you time and making it easy to maintain consistent updates.

Having a responsive website is also important for improving your search engine rankings. Recently, Google began rewarding websites that were built responsively by boosting their rankings, while penalizing sites that were not built responsively. Creating a modern, well-designed website that is also responsive is a great start to implementing a successful SEO strategy. While Google recommended mobile configuration for many years, now the search engine refers to responsive design as an industry best practice. One reason is that is much easier to crawl and share content from one website than from content that exists on a separate mobile site.

Finally, designing a responsive site that works well with all devices currently on the market ensures that this same design will also support new device sizes in the future. You won’t have to worry about redesigning your website as it will be prepared for every user’s experience no matter what screen size they end up with.

Beyond Private Label uses responsive design in every website we create. We also offer several other web design features, including straightforward, no-think navigation, prominent contact information and call-to-actions on every page, social media integration, branded emails, and much more. Our team also provides full support throughout the web design process and at any point after your site is complete, for as long as you host your website with us. Our team consists of web developers, graphic designers, SEO experts, copywriters, and entrepreneurs who work together to create successful small business websites that get found online. Contact us to learn more about responsive web design and all the other digital product benefits we have to offer for your clients.

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