The History of Web Browsing on Mobile Devices
According to Statcounter, phones and tablets make up roughly 54% of device market share worldwide. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, smartphones have become our personal companions. Tablets have also grown in popularity among those with casual computing needs. Mobile devices have been mainstream for about 13 years at this point. Yet, occasionally you will find that many websites still do not utilize responsive web design.
Before the Smartphone
Back in the day, many companies created multiple versions of their website to cater to different screen sizes. There were also many websites that used web slices and tables instead. On many websites, mobile users would have to scroll around a website vertically and horizontally. The high amount of scroll would negatively impact the user experience. Finding important information was often difficult, due to the lack of proper scaling. Luckily technologies have matured to the point where websites can look great on all devices.
Along Came Responsive Web Design
What is responsive web design? Responsive web design refers to layouts that can resize to any screen size. There are many reasons why responsive designs are important. Responsive designs can increase the reach to potential customers and clients who use mobile devices. Google recommends using responsive web designs for serving smartphone users. Responsive websites have the highest chance of performing well in the search results, according to Google.
Lower bounce rates are another huge benefit of having a responsive website. Since responsive layouts provide a better user experience, they will likely stay longer on your pages. Maintenance is also easier with a responsive design as there is only one version of the site. These are just a few of the reasons why responsive web designs are vital in 2020.
What to Look For
If you’re looking to have a website designer, it’s important that you look for a designer or agency who offers responsive design built-in. Having a website that resizes to any screen size should not come at an extra cost. It’s also important that a responsive design keeps the user experience and design intact. A great website design is one that maintains the integrity of the content and user experience.
If you are looking for a responsive website, we would love to build a solution for you! If you’re interested, please let us know how we can help.