The Benefits of Responsive Web Design
Responsive web design is the concept of developing websites that seamlessly adapt to the device from which they are being accessed. This concept has been around since the mid-2000s and it is improving each waking day thanks to the benefits associated with responsive web design. The adoption of the concept of responsive web design is necessitated by the prevalence of mobile technologies in the recent years, which requires businesses to come up with ardent means to reach their audiences. This article is a highlight of the main benefits of responsive web design to the business, the developer, and the customer.
Benefits to the Business
Businesses that run an online enterprise can benefit a lot from responsive web design. The main benefit for the business is the fact that it will have access to a wide audience. The prevalence of mobile technologies and the increase in the number of people that use smartphones and tablets is an advantage to the business that seeks to reach more people. The business is also going to benefits from faster and less costly development, which translates to profits in the long run. Responsive web design paves the way for faster and improved Search Engine Optimization because the web pages load faster thanks to the cashing technology. Other benefits that the business stands to enjoy include higher conversion rates and lower bouncing rates as well as hassle-free access to website analytics.
Benefits to the Developer
Responsive websites are relatively faster to develop. Developers spend half the time they would use to develop two standalone websites – one for the desktop and the other for mobile devices. Also, since the web pages are optimized for all the screens, it is less expensive and easy to maintain them. The technicalities required to test and provide support services for a separate mobile platform can be tedious and time-consuming. However, responsive websites have some uniformity that allows the developers to use a “one size fits all” approach hence saving a lot of time and effort.
Benefits of Responsive Web Design to The Customer
Evidently, more people are using mobile devices to access web pages these days. According to a 2015 research, mobile devices account for more than 50% of the traffic to top websites in the US. Responsive web design plays a central role in influencing these statistics. Individuals using mobile devices to access responsive websites are advantaged in the sense that they get fast-loading web pages thanks to the cashing technology. Also, the portability of smartphones and tablets means that customers are treated to a whole new level of convenience. The browsing experience is everything for a customer.
If a person visits the website, say for the first time using a mobile device, the impression they get will determine a lot whether or not they will come back. Responsive websites have so far been successful in creating appealing first impressions. Customers can do all sorts of things like zooming, scrolling up and down with ease. As if that is not enough, HTML5 on smartphones and tablets makes offline browsing even more enjoyable for the customer.
