It is clear to many in the web design world that mobile Internet usage is rapidly overtaking Internet usage on laptops and desktops. While many companies are still dedicated to maintaining a standard web front while simultaneously designing a mobile-specific website, this is actually more work than needs to be done.
The next year will see many companies simplify their online presence in an effort to make it more easily navigable and impactful. There are already a number of timesaving designs available that will help you impress users while keeping your website mobile-responsive.
What is Responsive Web Design?
So, what does responsive web design mean? And how does it impact your business’ online presence?
Responsive design techniques are meant to make your website more friendly for mobile users. For example, while your site may appear in two columns on a laptop or desktop, a responsive site will function as a singular, continuous column that is easily scrollable on a mobile device.
In other words, the central principle behind responsive web design is the need to have a single site with different elements that will display correctly on a variety of devices. The goal is to eliminate the need to create several versions of the same site.
When choosing your responsive web design template, you should make sure to avoid websites with extended load times, as well as the tendency to hide important content from the user. It’s also important to consider how the actual context of your site will enable you to reach out to effectively communicate with the user.
Responsive Design is a Win-Win
Regardless of the intention of their Internet activity, the overall levels of web usage are increasing amongst the members of every generation. No matter what industry you’re in, a responsive website will help you reach a large audience in a more comprehensive and efficient manner. Here are a few ways in which your site’s responsiveness impacts search results:
Google’s Behind It
While Google itself hasn’t completely embraced responsive web design, they do recognize sites that have employed these design elements by rewarding them with higher rankings in their search engines. Responsive web design actually helps Google find your content more easily because it eliminates the need to crawl a page with different Googlebot user agents in order to retrieve and successfully index the content.
When deciding how to configure your website, you should be aware that Google prefers sites that serve different mobile devices from the same set of URLs with each URL serving the same HTML by using CSS to change how the page is ultimately displayed on different devices.
Simplifies Design Requirements
Using responsive web design helps to organize your mobile and desktop content under a single URL. This format is significantly easier for users to interact with, share, and link to. In addition, it also helps Google’s algorithms to more simply assign the indexing properties to your site’s content.
As 2015 progresses, users will continue to take to mobile devices for the Internet needs. In this light, it’s essential that you explore how you can make your website more responsive so that it will be both user-friendly and desirable in the eyes of Google’s search algorithms.
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