Mobile devices have been around for a while, but they were never used in a way (and to such a degree) as they are today. Surfing the web with these mobile devices has grown at a stellar pace, and for the first time will outnumber desktops and laptops starting this year. And most sites on the web are not optimized for these smaller screens.
Responsive web design, also known as mobile friendly design, assures that the website is responsive to any display size and adjusts accordingly to assure optimum viewing for any device. For example, take our site ( Northwoods Web Designs ) shown below in different devices, is designed with responsive in mind.
Similar to a chameleon per se, it will adjust the layout, navigation and content of what is displayed based on the size of the screen to assure the best viewing experience regardless of screen size.
To account for these smaller screens,
several web design and development options for smaller screens existed for a while, such as creating a completely different site specifically for mobile devices. This is usually denoted by an “m” in front of the main domain (.i.e http://m.domainname.com ). That option has many drawbacks and is not the focus of this article as it is not a recommend standard going forward. Responsive web design is what is preferred today and onwards. It is even recommended by the largest search engines such as Google.
Does Responsive Web Design Have a SEO Impact?
Starting this year, responsive web design is now going to play a key role in SEO. It will affect organic search rankings, specifically on mobile devices if your site is NOT responsive. Google, for example, will effectively punish your site, starting Tuesday April 21st, if it’s not mobile friendly and someone is searching for your industry on a mobile (non PC) device.
The Future Is Responsive Web Design
The future is no longer web design, but responsive web design. Of course it takes a little more work for any web designer to make a website responsive, then to just make a website general increasing the overall costs. But the benefits outweigh the associated extra design & development costs involved. Businesses cannot afford to not have responsive website.
Is Your Site Optimized For Mobile Devices?
As stated previously, Google will be adjusting its SEO algorithm this spring to account for mobile friendly websites. To Google’s point, this is in part to making the web a better place (optimized for all screen sizes). They do not want to return search results on a mobile device where the website is not optimized and the user is going to have a hard time navigating it. They have mobile friendly test page to see if your site is mobile.
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
Just enter your website, or your competitors, and see the results.
You tested your site and it doesn’t pass? Let us fix that for you.
With exceptions to our lowest budgeted website design, all new sites are developed with responsive web design in mind. If your site is currently not responsive, contact us today for a free review. Every site is different; some can be converted to responsive relatively easy while others need a completely new website design.