Turquoise Creative’s latest blog, “Why do I need a responsive website?” is aimed fairly and squarely at business owners like you on the cusp of investing in a website.

We’ll explain what “responsive” means – unfortunately, jargon is never far away – and offer some compelling reasons why your presence on the internet needs to be as effective as possible.  

We’re delighted, as always, to work with Nick Oakes, web developer extraordinaire who knows websites inside out. Nick shares our values and delivers work to the highest standards.

So, do get in touch with him for more information.

By the way, in our opinion, WordPress should be your content management system of choice here, budget-allowing. No names, no pack drill. But, you may know the ones we’re referring to. Best to avoid a buy-cheap-buy-twice approach, we feel.

Is This You?

Perhaps you’re a start-up – an exciting phase in the development of your operation when every penny counts. Yet, you still want to put your best (digital) foot forward.

Or, you’re a more established business, and the time is now for an upgrade. The truth is, websites can get out of date quite quickly in their look and feel. As your expertise develops, the “message” will most likely be wrong at some stage. And, if people can’t access your site correctly – which is what this is all about – they’ll go elsewhere immediately.

Let’s start with the basics:

What is a Responsive Website?

Responsive web design involves creating web pages that visitors can see and use across various devices and screen sizes.

That is, your website has parallel functionality whether someone accesses it on a mobile, tablet, or a PC. It may look different, and have its menus, calls to action etc laid out differently on each media, but the development has been clever enough to enable easy, cross-device navigation.

The critical issue here is “user experience”.

Here’s why:

• You need the people you want to buy from you to be able to buy from you (or get in touch) without an unnecessary Sales Prevention System – which in this case, is your unusable site on their iPad or phone when they’re out and about.

• Although statistics vary somewhat, data shows us that in the UK, about sixty per cent of users access the web on their mobile. Probably, more.

Don’t get left behind. Here are some good reasons to be responsive when it comes to being responsive.

General Search Engine Optimisation.

The most obvious benefit to start, and one that may tip the balance, as it should. Google has implied that responsiveness is a key ranking factor on several occasions. Not least as it ties in with its preference for valuable and easily findable content. 

The fact is, Google has firmly moved towards a “mobile-first” approach in recent years. Search engine results pages (or SERPS) always place responsive designs above those lagging behind.

Enhanced Usability.

Responsive sites enable your would-be customer to make their way around your site faster. Thus, they can find the information that they need about your business. (You DO have awesome, value-adding content, don’t you?)

The main issue here is something called Time on Page.

Google has the clock ticking. Were you aware of this? As uncomfortable as it is to know this, the longer someone stays on your site, the better. You want them to trust your skills and appreciate your expertise. This will be down to the site’s layout, as much as the content. Three minutes? Excellent. Four or five seconds? Not so much. (See Bounce Rate below)

Focus on delivering a site focused on the user, and Google will likely reward you with higher rankings. Happy users equal leads, which in turn, become paying customers.

Lower Bounce Rate.

A bounce rate refers to how quickly users visit your site and leave immediately. Here, a super-speedy exit means that your site has not satisfied the user’s search intent or “answered” the “question” in their head. And yes, as above Google will notice this.

You may have the most excellent website in the world, but if the design makes navigating hard, you’ve just lost them permanently.

Improved Page Speed.

Without a doubt, page speed affects your rankings.

If your site is slow to load, it will frustrate your website visitors. And, as people have outstandingly short web-surfing attention spans (about six seconds), you could lose them almost immediately.

Mobile responsive websites offer the best solution here, with designs perfectly suited to specific devices for lightning-fast transitions from page to page.

Easier to Manage.

With a single responsive website, whether you do this yourself or outsource it, it’s easier to manage versus separate mobile and desktop sites. And with two versions of the same site, duplicate content is always possible. Let’s not confuse Google: even with two different URLs, with content that’s the same, it may not know how to prioritise and rank either of the sites.

Don’t be that person who discombobulates Google.

Improved Conversion Rates.

We mean the percentage of users who complete a desired action.

For example, contacting you to enquire about your services, or buying products from your site. Simply explained, with a better experience and simpler navigation, more people will do more of what you want.

In Summary…

If you’ve asked yourself, “Why do I need a responsive website?”, hopefully, we’ve addressed everything you need to know. People’s journey across the internet can often be complicated, and they switch between devices with high expectations of overall accessibility.

You may even do this yourself without being aware of it.

Therefore, ensuring that your website looks great on screens of all shapes and sizes is crucial. Give yourself the best possible chance with functionality that keeps the integrity of your content but renders it to different devices.

But, above all – don’t worry.

Experienced website designers know how to make a WordPress site responsive. In a nutshell, this is an important stage of their work, whether upgrading an existing site or building something from scratch. It’s what they do.

Contact us to find out more about responsive websites. It’s all part of the Turquoise Creative team offering, and we’re happy to help.