Responsive Website Design: What It Is & Why You Want It
You don’t have to be a web designer to reap the benefits of responsive design.
Have you ever come across the term “responsive web design” (even in our own blogs) and wondered, “What on earth is that?”
Luckily for you, here’s a quick (and largely non-technical) rundown on responsive web design.
What It Is
As we’ve explained before, for a while, when phones first started accessing the internet, it was considered “best practice” to create a desktop website
and a mobile website. If you had a visitor on their laptop, they were shown the desktop site; if the visitor was on their phone, they were shown the
mobile site.
This, however, meant a lot of work. You had upkeep on two sites, after all! And as newer phones and tablets came out with different screen sizes and resolutions,
it became harder and harder to keep up. You were either designing three, four, or more websites to accommodate everyone, or you were getting websites
designed for the lowest common denominator.
Then responsive web design was introduced, and the game changed.
Instead of designing multiple sites for multiple devices, web designers would build one site whose design would change to respond to the
device viewing it. With a responsive site, as the screen gets smaller, the text may get smaller, pictures and text may rearrange from side-by-side
to stacked on top of one another, and some areas may disappear entirely.
So while the desktop website may at first glance appear “shrunk”, it is actually a different design for the elements of the desktop site.
Why You Want It
Having a mobile site already comes with benefits; a responsive website takes these to the next level. In addition to getting a cool website, you’re getting:
- Only one website, instead of two (or more!)
- Future-proof design (since it can adapt to any new device’s screen size)
- Better mobile and local SEO
All of this means that you’re saving time, money, and effort – and, at the same, increasing your ability to gain new customers and give them the best possible
experience on your website, no matter which device they’re using to access it.
That’s why we at Splash are big advocates of responsive web design. Whether you’re an HVAC company in Columbia, SC or a financial services institution
in Charlotte, NC, responsive web design gives you the versatile, effective website your company needs.
If you’d like that kind of web design for your website (as well as a comprehensive approach to marketing that just can’t be beat), contact us today to
schedule a conversation and discover what we can do for your business.
