Responsive design continues to get more notice.
If you’re in the market for a new web design you’ve probably googled a bit and I’m sure some of the results have been about the need for responsive design.
If you need a refresher here are two great places to start:
Basically, responsive web design makes it easier for people to view your website while on various devices. In the past this has been accomplished with two complete separate designs: one for desktop and one for mobile. The other current option is to maintain one design focused on desktop while ignoring mobile users.
With a responsive design your website will adjust to fit the screen size of the common devices like the tablets and smartphones as well as fitting the common desktop experience.
Most articles about responsive design discuss how the design is beneficial for the designer and the site user. While this is important, there is one person that isn’t being talked about and that’s you, the business owner.
So here is how responsive design can make your job easier.
Easier Site Management
It’s good to keep things simple. Life is complicated enough already. We don’t need to worry about two websites: a desktop version and a mobile version. It’s a pain. Not only is it a pain, but it costs more. We need to hire the staff to manage everything from images to backend stuff and more. On top of that if you’re a small business you might even have to spend more of your time managing the two sites.
Responsive design takes more time upfront to create, but it’s entirely worth it in the long run. You’ll be able to create a better user experience for your customers, which can lead to sales increases while also cutting your website management costs.
There is some concern about the way responsive designs can affect page load times, but with good design and development the site load time will be extremely fast and more enjoyable for your users, which means more conversions and more respect from the big wigs on the web like Google.
Access From Any Location
Getting into the mobile discussion is important. People will focus on individual devices or even smartphones and tablets. What is important is that people are accessing the Web (websites and applications) from more locations.
It’s a pretty safe bet that you’re doing the same. If you use your company’s website to access information while on your phone then a responsive design can make the access simple and easy to navigate as compared to a desktop design.
With a responsive design you’ll be able easily use your fingers to navigate the admin area of your website so you can make changes when you’re not sitting at your computer. You’ll be running your website and even your business from your smartphone.
Fewer Changes in the Future
If you’ve been around on the web for a while you’ll realize that things change quite often. It’s expensive to redesign an entire website frequently and it’s kind of a pain because we want to get a design up and have it work for at least a couple years.
With responsive design your site will be well prepared for any of the new devices that come onto the market. Instead of having to redesign completely to fit the size of a new device, all your designer and developer will need to do is adjust some of your website’s code (CSS specifically) to adapt the site to fit.
Final Thoughts
Those are the ways you, the business owner, will benefit from responsive design. Every article is talking about the designer and the customer when it comes to responsive design. This article was for you.
If you’re interested in hearing more contact Sarah Lynn Design and check out some responsive design examples.
