Having a responsive website has become a crucial part of today’s digital landscape due to the ever-increasing use of mobile devices being used to browse the internet. As users' browsing habits evolve, businesses must evolve with them! With more people using tablets and mobiles, it’s key that websites accommodate the users by providing a seamless experience regardless of the device being used. Responsive design can address this by adapting the website's experience based on the screen size.
What is responsive web design?
Responsive web design is the practice of having a suitable website across all device types, typically mobile, tablet and desktop. The idea is that your website ‘responds’ to the device that the visitor is using without needing a separate mobile site. This is typically achieved by using flexible grids, images, and layouts based on the dimensions of the user’s screen.
The growth of mobile usage
Statistics on the increasing number of users accessing the internet through mobile devices
According to Statista, most people accessing the internet have come through mobile phones and have seen a steady increase year by year. Their study shows that mobile users (Q2 of 2022) account for 58.99% of all web traffic, up from 31.16% in Q1 of 2015 (1)! The growth in mobile users can be attributed to the increase in smartphones and the availability of mobile internet access. With people moving away from desktop browsing and adopting mobile as the primary way to browse the internet, it is now essential for businesses to create a mobile-friendly web experience.
How the evolution of web browsing has impacted website design and development
The shift to mobile browsing has altered the approach that designers take when building a website, one key aspect being touchscreen interfaces. Certain elements do not have the same function, and a designer has to take this into account and adapt them to the device being used. For example, a button's hover state would not apply to a smartphone user, and neither would a mouse position interaction.
Everybody has a different idea of what the perfect screen size is. The variety of sizes adds another aspect of mobile-friendly websites that designers must consider. Fortunately, most website builders have the option to preview the web page through different viewports to test and ensure that their design works across the board. Regardless, this is an important part of the mobile friendly design, ensuring that your content is easy to read and the user experience is equal across all devices.
As technology has developed and we have adopted smartphones as our primary devices, loading speed has skyrocketed. An app will load almost instantly, and this expectation of a seamless experience has transferred over to mobile websites. Because of this, designers and developers must optimise their responsive websites for load speed. This can be achieved through optimised images, videos, scripts and other content. By providing a fast load speed, a website can reduce its bounce rate and overall improve the user experience.
Consequences of poor mobile website design
Poor mobile web design can lead to many negatives for both the business and the user. In today’s digital world, there are multiple options for your prospects to choose from, and a poor mobile website will drive users away from your business before they get a chance to truly engage with you! Some of the consequences include:
Slow load time
Decreased user engagement: If a website takes too long to load, people will simply move along to the next website! In the day of fast internet and instant load times, it will be rare for a user to wait around for a slow website.
Reduced conversion rate: A slow-loading website will directly lead to fewer conversions and a loss of potential customers. With people struggling to navigate your website, they won’t be able to complete a desired action, such as completing a form or making a purchase.
Negative impact on SEO ranking: website speed is an important factor that search engines use to determine the ranking for your website, a slow website will be penalised and rank lower on search results than its faster competitors.
Increased bounce rates: poor load speed can lead to people leaving the website before it has even loaded!
Decreased use satisfaction: a slow load time will provide a bad experience, leading to a poor perception of the website and the brand.
Poor user experience
In many cases, your website will be the first touch point for a customer. First impressions matter! If you can provide a positive experience for your users right away, you’re off to a great start in having a website that does its job. Whether that is gathering leads, increasing brand exposure, or generating new customers. There are many ways you can prevent a negative experience:
Confusing navigation: a mobile website needs to consider a different layout for the navigation bar when compared to larger screens. With limited screen space, a typical horizontal menu won’t work on a smaller screen. A common way to combat this is by using a dropdown menu, accessed by an icon.
Unreadable text: using a small font can hinder how easily a user can take in your content! Without being able to read the text, a user won’t be able to get the most out of the website, leading to poor engagement and reduced satisfaction.
Ineffective use of space: Making use of the space on mobile is crucial to a good experience. Using a lack of padding between content will quickly make the website cluttered, especially on such a small screen. By spacing the content efficiently, the website will flow much more smoothly, allowing users to digest the information easier.
Poor accessibility: bigger buttons and links are a simple way of making the website usable. Some people – especially on really small devices – will find it hard to access parts of the website with small buttons.
Conclusion
In conclusion, having a responsive, mobile-friendly website is essential to compete online today! Most traffic comes from mobile device and a website that takes advantage of that is on the right path to attracting new customers and building a strong brand. We have discussed that a responsive website is the practice of having a suitable design across all types of devices, and this can be achieved through flexible content, grids, images, and layouts. By not evolving with browsing trends, websites can be left behind. Leading to a struggle in ranking on search engines, having slow load time, decreased conversion rates, and lower overall satisfaction, all affecting the brand in a negative way.
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