Is it important to have a responsive website for your business? Does it change anything? What has having a responsive website got to do with your business growth? You will find answers to these and more here. Keep reading.
Whether you run a small business with your friend, or you have a multi-million dollars company, you can’t downplay the importance of having a website for your business. Similarly, having a non-responsive website is as good as not having one at all in this dispensation.
What is a Responsive Website?
What does it mean for a site to be responsive? Should it talk back at you when you speak? Or it should answer your questions verbally? Maybe not exactly. To better understand what a responsive website is, try this small experiment.
If you are reading on a desktop computer, open each of these two websites on new tabs. On the first tab, open this responsive website example then open this second website on the other tab. Now, minimize the two tabs. Drag the width of each of the tabs back and forth and observe the changes on the website. You’d notice that each of the two websites respond differently to this adjustment in screen size. This difference is what separates a responsive website from non-responsive websites.
Going down memory lane
Some 10 years ago, computer meant a television-sized device occupying a large portion of your table in the company of its mouse, keyboard and sometimes, speakers. While that can still be termed a computer today, your pocket-size smartphone is also a computer as it possesses the attributes of a computer and performs most of its functions. Same goes for your tabs, ipads and phablets.
What this means is that most internet users access the internet with variety of ‘computers’ with different screen sizes. This includes your potential customers and target audience.
It’s therefore safe to say responsive websites are websites that cater for all screen sizes for amazing user experience. In other words, irrespective of the device in which they are viewed, responsive websites deliver appropriate display.
Why Your Business Needs a Responsive Website
Numbers don’t lie. Before looking at the benefits of a responsive website to your business, here are some stats to get the ball rolling. With this coming first, you’d better appreciate the benefits when you get to that point.
- Three out of four smartphone users search on mobile first for immediate needs (Google)
- 57% of internet users reveal that they would not recommend a business that has a poorly designed mobile site (socPub)
- Consumers all over the world currently have two times more engagements with businesses on their mobile devices than anywhere else including traditional media (Google)
- 69% of smartphone users say they will more likely patronize businesses that have mobile sites that answers and addresses their questions and concerns (BrightEdge)
You probably already get why you need a responsive website at this point. The stats have done justice to that.
Nevertheless, here are some of the benefits of having a responsive website for your business:
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Responsive websites load faster
One of the things that frustrates an internet user most is a site that takes forever to load. No one has the patience for it. While a site is taking its time to load, a regular user would leave it for another and that may just be the end.
A responsive website loads faster on mobile devices. The explanation to this simple. Non-responsive websites are made with only desktop users in mind hence it loads plenty information and data. When such website is accessed on a mobile device, it automatically takes longer time to load.
Responsive websites, on the other hand, are designed to suit every device. Hence, they load just about the right data that suits the device they are accessed with.
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Converts visitors to customers
The first place people turn to find answers on products and services is search engine (Google). There are several findings showing how most searches on mobile devices often result to purchase. According to search engine land, 78% of searches on mobile devices lead to purchase.
Similarly, a recent study by 15miles and Neustar Localeze reveals that out of five local searches, four often leads to a purchase and about 73% of the purchase are in physical stores.
Apparently, people search with their mobile devices when they are ready to buy.
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Optimized for current and future devices
The world has really evolved so much so that one begins to wonder how we coped in the days before the internet. There was a time when Java devices ruled the world of mobile, about the same time Symbians too were popular. From there, the world moved to Blackberry devices. Today, android and IOS are in vogue. It may be a different story tomorrow.
The point here is change is inevitable, especially with technology. And nothing prepares your business for future changes like having a responsive website. With a responsive website, you don’t have to bother about “what the future holds” as your website will fit the display of any future device.
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SEO advantage
Google has stayed relevant for many years not because they are the only search engine in the world, but because they continue to put their users first. One of the ways Google put consumers first is recognizing that more people access the internet these days with their smartphones hence, giving mobile-friendly websites an edge on search engine.
As a result, responsive websites outrank their counterparts on search engines. This means customers will find easier to find you on search engine.
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Helps to stay ahead of competition
It’s a competitive world out there. Getting a responsive website gives you an advantage over your competitors. Not all businesses know about this yet. Your competitors may not all that you now know and that’s good news.
Conclusion
The benefits of a responsive website are numerous. However, the summary of it is that it helps your business grow. If you have not decided before now on getting a responsive website, this should convince you to do that.
Don’t forget this; a non-responsive website in 2020 is as good as not having a website.