Why Responsive Design Matters

61% of all US website traffic came from mobile devices – a 4% increase from 2019. Meanwhile, just over a third of visits occurred on desktops.

This probably doesn't come as a surprise to many users and developers, considering how ubiquitous smartphones have become. But even so, desktop devices have not been completely replaced and that is why companies must adapt, making the experience seamless and attractive across various types of devices – desktop, mobile and tablet.

This is why responsive design has become so important. But what exactly does this mean and what are the benefits of it? Here's everything you should know.

What is responsive design?

Responsive design is essentially a means of creating a website that looks good and behaves properly on multiple devices, including mobile and desktop devices. We all know websites that appear distorted on mobile devices, even if they work fine on computers. This is an example of a product without responsive design.

When websites are created with responsive design in mind, the content fits correctly into the frame regardless of the device you are using. Navigation is more direct and the layout and appearance are more visually appealing. The content scales accordingly, adjusting to the device parameters. Ultimately, the quality is the same from screen to screen and users won't notice any major differences.

Benefits of Responsive Design

1. Better user experience (UX)

The main concern about viewing websites on multiple devices is User Experience . Without responsive design, websites can be difficult to navigate and appear unattractive and unattractive, with distorted images and misplaced elements. Text is often difficult to read and users have to scroll ad nauseam to find the right content.

Responsive design addresses these concerns. The design is much easier to use and will be more visual and attractive on a variety of devices. A better user experience also means you're more likely to retain users – otherwise, they might be tempted to leave your site and go to a competitor's.

2. Efficiency

From a business and developer perspective, responsive design is more efficient than the alternative – the alternative is to create 2 versions of the same website to serve mobile and desktop devices respectively. Although it takes a little time to make a website responsive, it is much simpler than building two websites with identical content. In today's age, it simply makes more sense.

From the user's point of view, this model is also more efficient. The loading time of responsive websites is considerably faster.

3. Simplified maintenance

Not only is it more efficient to create responsive websites from the start, it's also easier to maintain and improve them. Because you're only working with one site, you can make changes as needed quickly without having to apply those adjustments to different versions on the same site. This will also save you a considerable amount of time and effort in the long run.

4. Cost-benefit

At first, creating a website with responsive design in mind will seem expensive. But the investment pays off. In the end, it will actually be more cost-effective to create a responsive website, nothing less. Maintenance costs are lower, for example. Plus, you won't have to pay a developer for the time they would spend working on improvements for two sites, just one.

This, of course, adds to the fact that you will drive more traffic to your website, often translating into greater profit thanks to a more attractive website.

5. Better SEO and indexing

You probably know the importance of applying search engine optimization (SEO) practices to your website. Ranking schemes are constantly changing, but responsive design is always key to improving your SEO. Considering how you are paying attention to the user experience, engaging them and making them stay on your pages longer, you are also improving your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs).

In fact, Google considers responsive design in its algorithm and ranking system, another reason you should keep this in mind – you will increase your rankings.

Similarly, Google adopts mobile-first indexing, which means that the search engine uses the mobile layout and the website in general as the primary means of indexing the website. This will also impact your rankings, highlighting that the mobile version is critical.

6. Scalability

Companies grow – hopefully – and with them, their websites too. As you add content and scale your site, you'll need a design and format that fits perfectly. Responsive design does just that. Not only do they physically scale to match the devices the user views them on, but they also easily adapt to new and changing circumstances.

Again, because you're working on a single site rather than multiple versions, you can quickly adjust to different trends and best practices that emerge without investing a lot of time in design scaling.

Why is responsive design important?

It's clear that there are numerous benefits to using responsive design in your website development strategy, from savings to efficiency and optimized user experience. Given that your website serves as the face of your organization and your products – often the first thing users see – it's critical that you have the most attractive pages to show consumers.

Responsive design helps usher your website into the modern era by making it attractive from multiple points of view, including visual appeal and usability. It also demonstrates that you emphasize user experience and have your consumers in mind, ultimately indicating that you are a company with an excellent reputation.