Making an effective, optimized website is similar to casting your own, specially-made, broad net into the water with the hopes of catching as many fish as you can. With a responsive website design that scales the information to multiple screen sizes, you need to take into account all the various devices that people use to explore the internet. This is crucial because you want every visitor to your website to enjoy the best possible user experience, regardless of the platform they’re using.
A static website that only appears beautiful or operates well on a computer screen is no longer effective because websites are now often viewed from mobile devices. And you probably want your website to function on all devices if you’re concerned about the user experience and your search engine rankings. However, creating a single-column website is also not the solution. Here are some things you should know about responsive site design and how it may affect your SEO efforts.
What is responsive website design?
Responsive web design is a web designing method that allows your content to adjust to multiple device windows and screen sizes. It can be done using different elements in the website like Free Vector icons. For example, on a desktop device, your information may be divided into five columns because there is sufficient space for this. However, an iPhone or tablet would not be able to use that layout.
Adaptive design and responsive design are not exactly the same. With adaptive design, templates are created and many iterations of the same page are delivered. Responsive design, in contrast, uses a single design that “reflows” across various devices. Depending on the size of the screen, the CSS code manages the page’s layout and rendering.
Why Do You Require a Responsive Website?
The importance of responsive design cannot be overstated. First of all, people don’t view websites from a single device, and whether they click on your link from a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or iPad, they want a functional and interesting experience.
A responsive design is crucial for the user experience since more people than ever are visiting websites from mobile devices. You must meet customers where they are because data indicates that 52% of online traffic now originates from mobile devices.
The fact that Google has prioritized responsiveness is another reason why you should do the same. Google announced its mobile-first indexing over six years ago, which meant the search engine will start giving preference to websites that are flexible and mobile-friendly. Understanding that Google started indexing and ranking sites based on how the information loads and displays on a mobile device a few years ago is much more crucial. Why is it referred to as “mobile-first”?
How does responsive web design affect your SEO efforts?
The website for your company serves as its online shop. Hopefully, no matter what they’re using to discover it, everyone can find the door. Although the SEO environment in the digital world is always evolving, your digital marketing plan must include flexible site design.
Here are five ways that responsive site design may affect your SEO efforts:
Page loading speed:
When viewed on a mobile device, a desktop-optimized website loads extremely slowly. The fact that Google considers page speed when determining rankings should also concern you despite how annoying this is for your site’s users.
Your page will load considerably more quickly if it has a responsive web design. Your search engine results will improve since mobile sites won’t need as many resources to load.
Site usability:
People won’t utilize your website if it is not user-friendly. Although it seems like a straightforward idea, many companies struggle to design websites that are easy to read and navigate.
The user experience is simply improved with responsive site design. Consequently, visitors will stay on your website longer, come back, and perhaps spread the word about your company. This may raise your ranks as you receive more visitors.
Duplicate content:
Duplicate content is a different issue that Google has. The search engine may consider such sites to contain duplicate content if you have a mobile website that is independent of your main website and has a different URL. Instead, you may use responsive web design to address this problem.
Bounce rate:
Of course, if your bounce rate is really high, it signifies that a large percentage of people arrive at your website but depart right away due to a negative overall experience. Responsive web design is frequently advised by seasoned SEO companies as a way to reduce bounce rates and hence raise your ranking.
But keep in mind that because it depends on the kind of website you have, bounce rate is an inaccurate indicator. For example, according to Converting XL, content sites have a bounce rate between 40 and 60 percent, service sites between 30 and 30 percent, and blogs between 40 and 90 percent. The inaccuracy of it all was also brought up by a user who gave the example of his own website, which primarily comprises photographs and has a very high bounce rate as a result of people viewing the desired image and leaving.
Social media:
Social sharing doesn’t directly affect rankings, but it can help you generate traffic and brand recognition. It’s considerably simpler for users to share your material on social media when your website is responsive.
Search engines may assume that your brand, website, and content may be trusted if they see that you are receiving social shares. The contrary message, however, can be conveyed if users find it difficult to share anything on your website because it isn’t responsive.
Wrap-up:
Helping consumers have a better experience on your website ultimately has the most impact on your SEO score. The beauty of flexible website design resides in its simplicity and tendency to save time, which still makes it a little better option than the alternatives, for the time being. However, the field of web design is continuously evolving, so perhaps we’ll see a better idea at some point in the future.
