MGR Website Screen ShotAccording to Wikipedia: “Responsive web design (RWD) is a web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones).”

When you consider that “According to a new forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, tablet shipments are expected to grow 58.7% year over year in 2013 reaching 229.3 million units, up from 144.5 million units last year.  IDC now predicts tablet shipments will exceed those of portable PCs this year, as the slumping PC market is expected to see negative growth for the second consecutive year. In addition, IDC expects tablet shipments to outpace the entire PC market (portables and desktops combined) by 2015.

There’s no doubt that today, with the rise of mobile Internet surfing, every business must consider switching to a responsive version of their websites.  Read on to learn why you should consider a Responsive Website Design for your next website update.

1.      You may be losing clients because of your traditional website

You cannot claim that all your customers are just desktop or laptop users. There are many, who surf the web using their smart phones and tablets when they are on the move. In fact, most of the high level executives and decision making officers are also the ones with the highest percentage of travel time and mobile browsing per year.

These marketers learn marketing tips and tricks by watching videos on their phones and tablets. However, with your non-responsive version of the website, they will not be able to fully enjoy or learn about your company’s services on their mobile device.  Non-responsive versions fail to play videos with perfection. They take time to load and frustrate the user. Hence, you are depriving smart phone and tablet users from learning about your fantastic services.

Similarly, your website’s inability to adapt to a smart phone environment is keeping many marketers from joining hands with you. Certainly, you cannot ignore such a vast business opportunity. Turn to Website Responsive Design and enjoy the following benefits:

2.      Keep all your customers happy and satisfied

A responsive website will not deprive your customers of any information. When they visit your website via tablets and smart phones, they are able to see the same contents that they see on their desktops. They will have a hassle-free experience. They will not be redirected to multiple web pages causing them annoyance, as your web pages will load smoothly. Such ease of access will help you leave a good impression on your audience and you will be recognized as a resourceful business owner.

Moreover, when you have a Responsive Website Design, the quality of your website will not suffer at all. Users will be able to log into their accounts from any type of device and for savoring a variety of facilities such as attending your webinars and downloading your e-books effortlessly. Hence, you will enjoy a greater scope of retaining clients and spreading goodwill.

3.      Consistent SEO Results

Google’s search results and ranking algorithms are now changing more frequently than ever before.  Penguin and Panda updates are constantly monitoring black hat SEO tactics and rewording fresh, original content, authority websites and a better browsing experience for your visitors.  When you create two separate websites (desktop and mobile versions) with almost same content and structure, you run the risk of producing duplicate content, negatively affecting your own SEO rankings.

Additionally, for judging the popularity and authority of your responsive site, search engines will take into account the number of visitors coming through different means – desktop, tablets, and smart phones- as well as how much they share your content with their friends and other colleagues.

Your content will be consistent throughout all platforms and your analytics reports will be more accurate.

4.      Track your conversions conveniently

With Website Responsive Design, you will not have to worry about using numerous channels and going through multiple reports for analyzing your performance. You will have to employ just one web analytics software, which will gather user behavior across different devices and produce a single report. It will help you determine your position on the market quickly and take progressive steps promptly.

5.      Cost savings approach

With separate mobile and desktop versions of your website, you will not only have to pay development charges for the creation of both, but also keep aside a marketing budget for their maintenance. Moreover, with new mobile devices being introduced frequently, you will have to make repeated investments to keep upgrading them to the latest specifications.

However, when you choose a Responsive Design approach, you will only need to maintain a single website. As long as your web developers keep the Responsive structure intact, you will be able to have a “one update fits all” approach for the life of your website.  If your website goes through frequent updates –as it should- this would turn into a significant cost savings for you.

6.      Save time and give instant access to your members

When you run two versions of your website, you need to create different types of content for catering to the audience arriving through different devices. With so much of content uploading, you need excess time. However, by building a responsive website, you will have to upload only once.

You will only need to worry about a single SEO-friendly content, which will be operational on all devices. You will enjoy the ease of managing content from one point. With this facility, the tasks like uploading a new video will become easier and faster.

Therefore, your audience will not have to wait at all for getting access to your fresh content. Make your video live, inform your members and let them benefit from any device that they want.

At our agency, MGR Consulting Group, we are only developing Responsive designs from this point forward.  Only if a client specifically requests a traditional non-responsive platform, we develop his or her custom website that way.  But our philosophy is that if you decide to stand still, you’re actually moving backwards.  And we have no time for that.

What do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts too about Responsive designs.  Is it an important feature for you or your business?  Feel free to leave your comments below.

Until next time, this is Manuel Gil del Real (MGR)