Responsive  Web  Design  is  set  to  stay    

 What  is  responsive  design?    Increasingly  more  and  more  of  us  are  using  tablets,   Ipads  and  Smartphone’s.  To  keep  up  with  this  rising  trend  responsive  websites  are  becoming  a  popular  choice.  .A  responsive  website  is  a  site   which   can   be   viewed   across   all   devices   PC’s   and   laptops.   The   website   is   built   to  automatically  switch  to  accommodate  for  the  resolution,  image  size  and  browser  that  it’s  being  viewed  from.    Its  clever  stuff!      What’s  the  big  deal?      Reach  a  wider  audience    It’s  the  easiest  way  for  your  website  to  be  seen  by  the  widest  audience  possible  across  multiple  devices   not   just   PCs!   A   web   developer   recently   told   me   that   30-­‐40%   of   visitors   to   tourism  websites  he  builds  are  mobile  or  tablet  users  and  60%  for  an  events  site  he  built.  Stats  vary  of  course  but  you  can  be  sure   that  a  percentage  of  visitors   to  your  site  will  be  using  a  mobile  or  tablet.   So   if   you   want   to   maximise   your   websites   potential   by   reaching   as   many   visitors   as  possible  then  this  is  the  way.      A  better  user  experience  gets  visitors  ‘sticking’  around    It   eliminates   the   frustration   of   only   being   able   to   view   part   of   a   page   on   a  mobile   device   or  tablet.     Plus   there’s   no   re-­‐direction   and   users   benefit   from   decent   functionality   and   speed  because   it’s   built   for  multiple   viewing   purpose.     Responsive   web   sites   look   and   function   the  same  on  all  screens  so  you  can  be  sure  of  a  consistent,  quality  experience.      Improve  seo  performance  and  reduce  seo  cost    Responsive  design  means  you  only  need  one  website  so  if  you  choose  to  do  a  seo  campaign  you  can  consolidate  single  seo  tactics  across  multiple  devices  to  get  a  better  return.  Google  officially  recommends  responsive  sites  and  even  say      “responsive  design  sites  have  one  URL  and  the  same  HTML,  regardless  of  device,  which  makes  it  easier  and  more  efficient  for  Google  to  crawl,  index,  and  organize  content  as  oppose  to  a  Google  needing   to   index   and   crawl   multiple   versions   of   the   same   site”   Quoted   from  www.serachenginewatch.com    Easier  and  cheaper  to  manage  You  no  longer  need  to  pay  for  a  separate  desktop  and  mobile  site.  You  only  have  to  pay  to  maintain  one  site  that  can  be  viewed  by  all.      Any  cons?    Not  in  my  professional  opinion.  It’s  worth  pointing  out  that  if  you  supply  your  own  images  for  a  responsive  website  then  for  optimum  quality  you  will  need  to  ensure  that  the  image  is  twice  the  size  you’d  normally  use  for  a  standard  website.          

Final  thoughts    It  has  been  predicted  that   the  number  of  mobile  connected  devices  will  exceed  the  number  of  humans   on   Earth   in   2014!  With   sales   of  mobile   devices   and   tablets   sky   rocketing   responsive  design  is  key  to  staying  ahead  of  the  competition  and  in  front  of  the  widest  audience  possible.    Could  your  existing  site  become  ‘responsive’?    Or  are  you  looking  at  getting  a  new  website?    To  find  out  more  about  what  a  responsive  site  can  do  for  your  business,  get  in  touch    www.clairenicholsdesign.com