From iPad to desktop, and smartphone to Netbook, the number of internet ready devices continues to increase. Web designers are working hard to keep up with the standards needed to display content consistently across all these devices. The popular news source, TIME, recently launched a first for the industry, a fully responsive website design which they seem to be very proud of. Looking at TIME.com‘s website you might think “nothing new here,” but what you don’t see are the lines of HTML5 code supporting the page’s design allowing for content to be what’s known as “responsive.” This is how website content “conforms” to the device you are using – looking good no matter if you have a new Samsung smartphone or an old Dell desktop.
Let’s explain why this is a big deal. Before new devices began to spring up with different screen-sizes, web developers had very few platforms to design for – cell phones and desktop computers. Designers realized it can be frustrating to display a lot of content in a small area. Developers would have to design another website just for people with mobile devices. More work designing these sites means more sites and more strategies to be implemented. Other good samples of responsive website design are our friends 35 Denton or shoe kings Nike, which once again are websites built to accommodate screens of all sizes. The bigger the device window the more content that will be shown. Isn’t it beautiful? Due to the rise of internet-based devices, creative agencies probably will be making responsive web sites the standard for optimizing a website for all situations.
Does your website look good on every screen?
Of course, a responsive design may not be needed for markets that wouldn’t use the website on mobile at all. For instance, if your website requires a lot of interaction that a large keyboard and full sized monitor would be best for, simply having a desktop version of the site may be best.
Search Engine Optimizers, Rejoice!
For an SEO Specialist or Digital Marketing Specialist, responsive design can bring a little extra smile to their faces. Search Engine Optimization, is crucial for a constant stream of internet traffic to your website. The more competing company websites you have in your market, the harder it is to bring traffic to your site and for searchers to find what they need. This large abundance of websites confuses the search engines algorithms. This is where responsive design can save the day.
Responsive web design is a streamlined and cost-effective method of keeping website’s content and information all in one easy location. Let’s say you have both a mobile and desktop version of your website to display your content, and someone is searching for your brand’s contest or a special deal. If the search engine (i.e. Google, Bing, Yahoo!) finds your mobile site to be most relevant to someone’s search query instead of the site that person actually needed, then your consumers can’t find what they’re looking for – Google could show them the wrong link to your website, or worse– not at all. Competitors with better SEO, grabbing higher search rankings, can scoop up a your potential consumers because they have only one site with all the information in one place ready to dynamically change on the fly for use on any device.
How do you feel about responsive design changing the game of web development? Leave us a reply below or email us at communicate@square205.com. If you’re in need of a website that is impressive across all mediums, why not learn more at Square205.com?