Why do you need a responsive website?

A responsive website design is a must-have when building your own website. Essentially, a responsive website adapts to the size of any screen that it is being viewed on – this is different to a mobile-friendly site, which is a separate, simpler version of your site designed solely for mobiles, which might have glitches and is difficult to navigate when viewed on high resolution devices. 

Nowadays, it is hard to deny that the internet is reshaping the way we typically buy goods: in 2013 internet sales of non-food products in the UK grew by 19.2% compared to the previous year. With 7 out of 10 people in the UK now owning a smartphone, it is hard to deny that there is a strong link between ecommerce shopping and mobile phones. If your website isn’t responsive, and therefore has to have two different versions of one website for different devices, you could harm your business’ growth. If you’re still not convinced, read on to discover just how a responsive website can boost your website’s chances of success. 

Reduce your costs

Starting up an ecommerce business online can incur many hidden costs, slowly pushing up the expenditure for your website. To build your own website from scratch without a website builder means you’re already spending a lot of time and money on necessary features such as your website design and site coding. If your website is responsive then you only need one version of your page, but if it isn’t then you’ll need another version, with a different URL, so that it can be viewed on a different device. 

With a responsive website, you can cut down the costs of running your website, as you won’t be paying for two versions of the site. It also halves the time you spend doing maintenance on your site, meaning you can concentrate your time more efficiently in other ways to grow your business. 

Increased conversation rates

As an unresponsive website usually distorts the way your website appears on mobile devices or tablets, that affects multiple aspects of your website design, such as your layout or your font sizes. Imagine you’ve spent hours perfecting your site design, only for it to lose all aesthetic when it’s not viewed on a desktop. 

Understandably, a website that isn’t easy to navigate is going to put off potential customers, damaging your ecommerce site or tarnishing your reputation. As 67% of mobile users are more likely to buy from a website with a responsive web design, you need to build a website which doesn’t exclude a large chunk of your target market. 

Having a responsive website also markets your image as a professional: with only one URL, users who share your content on their social media only have one link that they can share. With two URLs, a site user might share your link on their desktop, which is then seen and clicked on by another person who is viewing your website from a mobile device. As the link won’t respond well to their mobile device your website will seem clunky and poorly designed, prompting them to lose interest in your business before they’ve even properly explored it. With one URL, you can avoid this issue completely – your site will be ready to view on any device. 

Improve your SEO ranking

Boosting your SEO ranking can boost your business’ success dramatically: considering that Google recommends a responsive website pattern, it’s best to follow its guidelines to make sure you rank as highly as possible on search engine results pages. Having a responsive website isn’t just good for SEO because Google likes it – there is actually a method behind it. By using a single URL structure, you’re giving Google’s spiders less work, as they don’t have to crawl and index both versions of your site, and then decide which version to show on its search engine results. 

Building a website with a responsive site design also improves your SEO ranking as it means site users are more likely to stay on your website for longer. Having a low bounce rate tells Google that your site is valuable and should therefore be listed higher on its search engine results, whereas a site with a high click-off rate suggests to Google that your website is of poor content, and should therefore be lower on its index. 

If you want to build a website, but don’t have the time to spend hours coding, or the money to hire a professional website designer, Go Sitebuilder offers ready to go site designs at an incredibly affordable price. One of the best things about our site? It delivers responsive websites so site users can access from any device, and you can even update or make changes to your site anywhere you want. Our website builder provides a professional finish, without the premium prices – to find out for yourself, start our free 14-day trial to discover all the benefits we offer, and more!