16 Jan 7 reasons to make your site responsive
According to the annual study by Hootsuite and We Are Social (2018 Digital Yearbook), two thirds of the entire world population already have a mobile phone, and most of these are smartphones. In addition, the number of internet users who use a mobile phone as the main device to surf the web not only surpasses those using any other tool, but the sum of the rest. Therefore, it´s logical to think that many of the visits to our websites, blogs and especially social networks come from a smartphone.
Even when aware of these numbers, many brands or platforms are resistant to change and have not yet decided to take the leap and adapt their website for viewing on a smartphone. Surprisingly, in 2018 there are still many websites where users have to zoom in to be able to see something on their mobile phone.
If your brand still hasn´t taken the step and changed to this new era or you are not quite sure, think about the reaction of potential clients when they come across this problem while visiting your website. Do you think they will remain patient and hire your services anyway or will they look for a company that offers an easier website to browse through? The answer is obvious.
So, now that we know that our website needs to be upgraded, what options do we have? There are three ways to streamline navigation via a smartphone: to create an app, generate a second website suitable for mobile or make your website responsive, in other words, adapt it so it can work with any screen size.
We recommend the third, and here are the 7 most important reasons:
1. It´s practical
If you adapt the site you already have, you won´t have to maintain two different platforms, which is obviously much easier. Once done, you will continue maintaining your website by uploading new content as usual, which will be adapted to the various user screens. Not only that, since all the visits are to the same URL, it´s much easier to analyze the statistics.
2. An app may not be the best decision
Creating a new app will require more work and maintenance, as well as the need for certain resources. In addition, users will have to download it and occupy space on their phones before they can use it, which they may not consider worthwhile. If you decide to create an app, it´s a good idea to make your website responsive at the same time, since you can’t be sure users are going to download the app.
3. Your website will be ready for the future
The responsive design is not limited to one type of screen, but adapts to the one that suits you in each case. Therefore, if you apply it, you will be preparing your website for any type of screen that comes in the future or that becomes a trend, and you won´t have to make new changes again
4. Your content will be more likely to go viral
If there is one thing that smartphones are primarily used for, that is social media. By making your website available to smartphones, you bring it closer to social media, which makes it easier for users to share your content naturally and directly. Besides, any user will be able to access to your website from a shared link, regardless of the device they are using.
5. User experience will improve
Make it easy for the user. There are too many websites out there and you can’t be sure that users will choose your website, given all the competition. The easier it is to navigate your website, the longer users will stay and the better the chances they will return. Look at it from a different perspective; if a user doesn´t like your site, it´s very easy to change to a better one.
6. You will improve your SEO score
Google loves responsive designs because they increase traffic (since all visits go to the same URL) and since you are offering better user experience, your score will improve. This also ensures that you don´t have duplicate pages or redirects, which Google penalizes.
7. It will improve your brand image
Our website represents us and deserves being taken care of. There is no point in working on our content if it can’t be seen properly on a mobile phone.. If we want to portray a good image, we have to be up to the task and put ourselves in the user’s place. Nowadays, a brand can´t afford not being up to date on the internet and displaying an old-fashioned image.
