Almost every business has a website, but these days the internet isn’t just about what you see on a desktop computer screen. People are surfing the internet on a diverse array of devices, from smartphones to gaming consoles. Some experts predict that by 2016, most web traffic in the U.S. will be on mobile devices.
The problem is, most business websites are still designed for only desktop or laptop computers. When you view a typical business website on a mobile device, it usually requires pinching, zooming and scrolling just to see what’s on the page. And interacting with the site via a touchscreen can be awkward at best.
To compensate, more businesses are deploying mobile-optimized web design, or “themes,” that the web server sends when a mobile device is detected. That’s a first step, but mobile devices come in many shapes and sizes. What looks great mobile phone may look and perform poorly on a tablet.
It is possible to design sites for each of the major screen sizes and devices, but ultimately that’s a losing game. New device types will outpace any designer’s ability to customize for it.
Responsive Web Design To The Rescue!
The solution is called “responsive web design,” which can make your website easier and cheaper to manage, while giving mobile users a better experience. It allows you to create one design that will fit almost any screen size, and will also enhance your search visibility on all major search engines like Google, Yahoo, & Bing!
When a potential customer enters a responsive website, the site senses that user’s device and automatically responds or re-configures itself to display and function accordingly. It will reorganize the layout.
Responsive web design is a radically different way of displaying a website, which means it’s hard to retrofit responsive design to an existing conventional website. You’ll probably want to create a new responsive website from scratch.