Short answer: Yeah, probably.
Long answer:
We often speak to clients who are looking for a quote on a new website and have spoken with several other web design companies. When we start to mention we build responsive websites the majority of them say something like, “The other companies we’ve spoken with didn’t mention this.” or “The other guys said we don’t need a responsive website and it will work on any device anyway.”.
A rear-wheel drive may run in the snow but a four-wheel drive is better. Today’s landscape, with its prevalence of mobile devices, means we’re driving to the Arctic and you want four-wheel drive on hand!
Responsive web design isn’t just stacking up content vertically and making big buttons. That’s the kind of thing design shops talk about when they don’t know what they’re talking about. Anyone who has ever sat through a design school lecture knows you’re always designing with a purpose, always designing for the user.
With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense to have your website legible on the devices a user has?
Doesn’t it make sense for your customers to be able to easily achieve their goals?
Doesn’t it make sense to have your website content adapt and respond to your customers’ environments?
We think it does make sense – and the web design company which tells you otherwise is talking nonsense.
If you are a business and want a business website design that reaches beyond people sitting at desks then responsive web design is the way to go.
Lets debunk some myths
It costs more…
If you go with a web design company which is experienced and has the skill set required to create responsive websites then it doesn’t cost significantly more. For example, our pricing for a site which has a responsive layout is typically only 5%-10% more than a static desktop layout.
How many of your customers do you think don’t use a smartphone?
Worth it?
Nobody buys things on a mobile device…
A recent 2013 comScore study shows 80% of smartphone users shop online.
Mobile sites look bad…
If so then they are badly designed websites; not because they are responsive but just because they are badly designed. The whole point of responsive design is it looks great and enhances the user experience.
It’s just a passing phase….
Like digital photography or color televisions? Seriously, though, the smartphone you have right now may be old-fashioned next year but that’s why sites we build respond to the devices using them. We don’t know what device your users will be using in a year or two. What we do know is your site structure and content should be flexible enough to fit whatever device they’ll be using.
Lets explore some other benefits of a responsive website
Your site loads faster
Using a mobile-first approach to responsive website design, we are able to send content which is optimized for the viewing device. Having a static desktop website and viewing it on a mobile device only means you’re shoving huge amounts of data to the user (which they don’t need and can’t easily use, anyway), slowing down your customer’s browsing experience and eating up their data plan.
It delivers a more focused website
Thinking about what content is important for a 5″ screen forces you to make good decisions about what content is important for all your customers, no matter what device they are using. People expect to be able to see the same content on a smartphone as they do on a desktop and they want it easily digestible/navigable. If you’re not giving that to them then they’ll go somewhere else that will.
It decreases bounce rates
People stick around longer if they have an optimized experience. The big companies know this, which is why they deliver content optimized for the device viewing it.
Now… Need a responsive site? (You answer “yes” here, of course.) Then contact us.
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