The Importance of Responsive Web-Design
Smartphones and tablet devices are becoming more popular and are starting to replace laptops and desktop computers for internet use. This has increased the need for mobile-friendly websites. If search engine optimization (SEO) is an important aspect of a marketing strategy, it is vital that a website is easy to use on a smartphone or tablet as well as a desktop computer in order for it to succeed. Fortunately, it is possible to create one responsive website rather than have separate websites for different devices. This is particularly useful for websites that need a SEO strategy so it ranks high in internet searches. High performance in web searches is a key component of an online retailers marketing strategy.
The key advantages of responsive web design
Google is the most important and powerful search engine in the world and they have the largest market share. Responsive web design is the search engine’s recommended configuration for websites that need to work on multiple devices. The key advantage of responsive websites is that they use just one URL, as well as the same HTML code. This makes it easier for Google to locate, index, and organize content. A separate website for a tablet and smartphone will require a different URL and will have to use different HTML code. This means that Google has to find and index multiple versions of the same website. Also, all content remains at one URL, which makes it easier for users to access, share, and link to the content. As it is impossible to anticipate all of the devices and different screen sizes that internet users will use, responsive web design will provide a much better user-experience, and user-experience is an important ranking factor for Google. In addition, having multiple websites creates the need for separate SEO strategies. This is another key advantage for responsive web design, as it only requires one SEO strategy. Websites such as online retail outlets benefit greatly from responsive web design so that their customers can enjoy an excellent user-experience when they shop using their desktop, as well as their device. Customers may use their smartphone or tablet to search for products while they are on the go, and then return home to buy that product on their laptop or desktop computer. If user-experience is poor on a tablet or smartphone then the company may loose a lot of potential customers. Not only that, if the website ranks poorly with Google then customers are far more likely to buy a product from another company that ranks higher in the list of searches.
So, anyone that is designing a website where SEO is a vital factor, such as an online retail website, should take a further look into responsive web design. This way they can ensure that their website is optimized to work perfectly on all types of device.
