3 Advantages of Responsive Web Design

Mobile usage is growing at a rapid pace and every business knows their website needs to be mobile-friendly. One of the most difficult decisions is choosing between a dedicated mobile website and a responsive website because both options have their advantages.

Responsive web design is an alternative solution to dedicated mobile websites. A responsive website detects and conforms to the dimensions of the screen on which the website is being viewed and automatically adjusts the formatting of its content and images for optimal display. At Leverage Digital, a web design company in Tampa we specialize in creating professional, mobile-friendly responsive websites.

Below, we outline 3 advantages of having a responsive website, and how it can help your business.

1. Better for SEO

Google has publicly announced that responsive web design is their preferred mobile configuration and refers to this technique as the industry best practice.

For companies that rely heavily on search engine optimization (SEO), a responsive website is the ideal mobile solution. With responsive web design, there is no risk of being penalized by search engines for duplicate content since the content that is displayed regardless of the device comes from the same website. Additionally, it is easier to manage one SEO campaign on one responsive website, than it is to manage two SEO campaigns on separate desktop and mobile websites.

Furthermore, responsive web design reduces load time since it does not require URL redirects, a technique that is used to direct users to a dedicated mobile website when a mobile device is used. Also, device-based redirection is error-prone and can have a negative impact on user-experience, which is a factor that Google takes into account when ranking websites for specific keywords.

2. Provides a Consistent User-Experience Across Multiple Devices

One of the primary benefits of adopting responsive web design is that it allows businesses the ability to provide visitors with a consistent user-experience across multiple devices.

Until recently, the most common mobile strategy was to create a dedicated mobile website, which is often a stripped down version of the desktop website. While this solution allows businesses to provide a “mobile user-experience,” it often results in a website that lacks the information mobile users are looking for, and leaves them resorting to the all-too-familiar “Desktop Version” link. If users have to visit the desktop version of a website on their mobile device in order to find the information they’re looking for, not only does this create a terrible user-experience, but it calls into question the purpose of having a dedicated mobile website in the first place.

Consistency is critical for keeping users happy, and this is where responsive web design fits in. Regardless of the user’s device and screen size, with responsive web design they will always be presented with a website that is consistent in both design and in the information that is provided to them, which is exactly what mobile users expect.

3. Reduces Site Management Costs

Another benefit of responsive design is that it saves business owners both time and money on development and maintenance of the website. Before the introduction of responsive web design, businesses had to create multiple versions of their website to accommodate the various screen sizes of their mobile users, all of which required time and resources to develop, manage, and maintain.

It is generally easier and less costly to maintain one responsive website than it is to maintain separate desktop and mobile websites. The reason for this is with two separate websites, businesses must incur the ongoing cost of managing and maintaining two separate sets of code and two separate sets of content.

With responsive web design, there is only one version of a website to maintain, which makes it the more cost effective solution for businesses in the long-run.

Conclusion

Responsive web design is better for SEO, allows businesses to provide a consistent user-experience across multiple devices, reduces site management costs, and gives businesses the ability to meet the needs of desktop, tablet, and smartphone users, all from one website. For these reasons, at Leverage Digital, a responsive web design company in Tampa, we recommend that every business owner consider a responsive website for their mobile web presence.