As phones get smarter, and with more people using mobile devices to access the internet, businesses pay extra attention to making sure that their website is easily accessible through these devices. 

While most websites today are mobile-friendly, not all of them are responsive – some features do not function effectively and navigation can be a struggle. This is bad especially for businesses as this means visitors are not able to fully experience the benefits your website is designed for, which leads to decreased sales and less engaged users.

 

Why is Responsive Web Design Important for Business?

More than 50 percent of search queries around the world come from mobile devices. An outdated design can deter potential leads from your page. When consumers find it difficult to access your website through their phone, it makes the wrong impression. As much as possible, you want to make a positive impact in the first few seconds your public access your website.

Adapting a responsive design on your website can improve your audience’s experience navigating your site regardless of the devices they use. Responsive websites can easily adjust to the specifications of smart devices, not to mention the design remains equally functional and appealing. This is important for businesses to keep users interested and engaged with your brand.

Any inconvenience like having to zoom in to read the text, call-to-action button too small for the finger to tap, or slow page load speed can turn off potential customers making you lose business. 

Improving your website design can also help build trust between your brand and your customers. Studies show that people consider design as a factor in trusting a brand. So if your website is poorly designed, you’re probably scaring customers away. 

The impression is that since you’re not willing to spend time and resources to improve how your brand looks online, people might think you don’t care for your customers and are unprofessional. Instead of making customers confident about your brand and feel that you are trustworthy, you went the opposite direction. 

 

How do I Make My Website Responsive?

While responsive web design is practically a standard for most development platforms, these are the important areas to check yourself to make sure that your website really is responsive or follows best practices of a responsive website design.

 

Check your Loading Speed

In 2018, Google introduced the Mobile Page Speed Update wherein website load speed is now considered as a chief ranking factor for mobile search results. Monitor the amount of time your website takes to load on different browsers, devices, and internet speeds. 

If your site is performing poorly with regards to speed, compress large resources or caching so that they can be easily viewed and accessed on small devices.

 

Important Content Should Remain Visible Across all Devices

Organize content according to importance. Make sure that your most important and impactful content remains visible across all platforms compared to the less important ones. 

 

Test On Multiple Devices and Browsers

Check your Analytics for both mobile and web traffic. This is the easiest way to check what device people use to access your website. Signs that you need to improve your website accessibility may include short average time duration, high bounce rate, and low to zero conversion.

You may also use this data to check for device-browser combinations. Update regularly so that your website works more optimally.

 

Conduct an In-depth Visual Testing

Check if your content overflows on the edges of the screen. It should smoothly scroll down across all devices. The texts, images, and controls should have perfect alignment. 

 

Implement Appropriate Typography per Device

Style, font and colors should be consistent and typography should be compatible in all platforms. Text should be readable across all devices. 

 

Navigation Should be Smoothly Operating

In a responsive design, users should be able to navigate around through swipe movements. Navigation elements should never overlap the screen’s edges. Best practice dictates the use of the hamburger icon for hidden navigation.

 

Check for Interactivity Levels

Use tools to monitor user interactions on your website. Track interactions like mouse clicks, keyboard movement, and finger taps to understand how visitors use your website.

 

Conclusion

Responsive web design is not an overnight solution. It takes time and resources, and requires updating depending on latest technology and changes in consumer behavior. To ensure your website stays functional, regularly conduct testing across multiple devices and browsers and monitor your users’ activity levels on the site. 

 

If you’re starting a brand new site, make sure you contact experts like Public Advertising Agency, who can build the site to optimize for responsiveness and update the site regularly. We’ve been named one of the Top Small Business Web Design Companies on WebDesignCompanies.com and a top Shopify company by DesignRush. Call for a quick consultation today and let’s design your customer’s experience.