Why A Responsive Website Is The Smart Choice

How People Are Using The Internet in 2015
As we all know, people are using all sizes of device to look at websites these days. Designers are still using huge screens on their desktops, while at the other end of the spectrum teenagers and busy business people are more frequently using the web on tablets and smartphones.

Data from Google shows that there is a common trend happening. People are beginning their interest in content or a purchase via mobile or tablet, and then continuing to explore at a later time on a bigger screen.

This confirms that businesses need to be prepared for all their visitors to be able to access their content successfully from all these types of devices.

What Is A Responsive Website?
Put simply, a responsive website is one that responds to the size of the screen that you are using, and adjusts the presentation accordingly. Sometimes this means just adjusting the height and width to fit your screen.

At other times it will completely alter things such as the menu system in order to make your website easier for users to navigate. This is especially the case on smaller devices where changes need to be made to the layout of the content in order for it to be more easy to read, rather than just squashing it onto the page.

If you want to see exactly what we mean, then try looking at this website on a regular computer screen, and then on a mobile phone or a tablet, and you should get a good idea of how a responsive site works.

Why Is It Important?
Your website is the online representation of your business, so it stands to reason that you want to make it as easy to view and understand as possible. If your site is not responsive, then the website doesn’t know how to fill the space on the screen.

So what does that mean? It means that your text could be too small to read, or that your site looks so huge that someone has to scroll for ages to get to the right part of the screen. Images may be the wrong size and the layout could be inconvenient to navigate.

This means that you are confusing your visitors and possibly making your website frustrating to you- not a great idea.

Are They More Expensive To Create?
Good question. This depends how your website is built. If you are going to build a website from the ground up without the user-friendly WordPress platform, then it is going to take a lot more work for your designer to implement the responsive elements required.

If you stick toWordPress, then you will need to pay a one off fee to get yourself one of the latest themes. These are readily available, but need some customization to get the most out of them. If you don’t know how to do this then the learning process can be tedious, and you might not get the results you want if working alone. Your best option is to get the theme re-worked to your preferences by someone with experience in WordPress design who can implement your idea professionally. There are also a host of extra services available for WordPress sites like e-commerce systems, e-mail forms and security features that don’t come as standard. Most people will definitely need help in setting those up. It’s also worth mentioning that you should contact someone who is up-to-date with best practices and the latest software to use. The internet changes fast!

Do They Need Any Extra Maintenance?
Once the site is in a completed state (i.e. when you get the site is handed over from your designer) then there is no maintenance or special attention required. You can just log in to your admin area as usual with no fuss.

If you’re looking for more information or some advice on moving over to a responsive site, or you’re interested in updating yours, get in touch with us here at Eggplant Digital. We’re WordPress specialists, and always happy to pass on useful knowledge about one of our favourite topics.