It can’t be emphasized enough how important it is for a business to have a website in 2021. The increased preference for online shopping and the time people spend online means that most users often get their first introduction to a brand through an online search. This is why it’s crucial not just to have a website but to have a well-designed one.
The design doesn’t just refer to visual appeal. It also covers the functionality and technical aspects like loading speed, accessibility, etc. Giving your site visitors a good browsing experience increases the chances that they’ll convert into paying customers. It’s a similar concept to how physical stores use stylish interiors to entice customers to come in and purchase something.
Prioritizing user experience
One of the things you need to be mindful of when designing a website is user experience. User experience has become a cornerstone of many aspects of digital marketing simply because it’s the best way to secure customer trust. Consumers nowadays are spoiled for choice. Back then, it was inconvenient to compare prices on goods since you’d have to travel to different physical stores. At present, all users need to do is to go to eCommerce sites and sort the products by increasing prices. They could also just do a Google search and open different tabs to compare prices on similar products from different brands. This ease means it’s harder to foster brand loyalty as users focus on price instead of brand.
However, Philadelphia web design agencies claim that a good user experience often makes all the difference. Even if your competitor offers the same product for a lower price, if your website gives the customer a better user experience across the board, they will likely be willing to pay the extra money for the added convenience.
One of the ways you can improve your user experience is by adopting responsive design. Users use various devices to browse the internet, and not even all mobile phones have the same screen size and resolution. Given this, it’s important to ensure that your website is optimized regardless of the medium your site visitor uses to access your site. Responsive design ensures that your website displays and functions correctly on all screen resolutions, browsers, and devices.
The importance of responsive web design
Back in the day, all we had to browse the internet were desktops. At present, mobile devices have grown powerful enough to rival low-end desktops and laptops. Add to that the convenience and portability of mobile devices, it’s not surprising that smartphone usage overtook desktop usage as early as 2016. In 2018, 51% of digital media time was accessed through a mobile device, with desktop trailing behind at 42%.
This behavioral shift means that it’s essential that responsive design is implemented on your websites. Responsive web design can improve user experience, which could foster brand-consumer trust and result in increased revenue. Search engines also favor websites with responsive design. Google has claimed that they boost the rankings of websites that are mobile-friendly. This is a valuable advantage for your website, as higher up the search ranking, sites are proven to get more organic traffic.
Besides adopting responsive design, you could even build a mobile version of your site for a better mobile user experience. Prioritizing mobile traffic makes sense, given that the majority of your users are probably using mobile devices to access your site. The only disadvantage to this option is that it’s like maintaining two websites. Your mobile site will typically be housed under a different URL, and you’ll have to redesign and recode the site for optimal browsing convenience to account for obstacles that mobile users face. For one, it’s harder to type on a mobile device than on a desktop, so if your site has a time limit to input certain information for security purposes, you may want to adjust that limit to account for decreased speed when typing on a smartphone. Another is that small links are also harder to click for people using their fingers, so you may want to use icons and buttons instead. Additionally, you’ll need to transfer all your content to the mobile site. Such changes and tasks contribute to your web developers’ work and could result in significant expense and might take a long time to accomplish.
Responsive design, on the other hand, only needs to incorporate a few codes into your website. It’s both low-cost and low-maintenance, so more companies prefer this route despite the benefits of a mobile website.
At this point, you may be wondering how to enable responsive design on your website. However, the process requires significant knowledge of web page coding. If you don’t have in-house web developers, you could hire a freelance web developer or partner with Philadelphia web design agencies. They also have web designers, experts, and consultants to help you optimize your website for the best user experience.
Besides adding the necessary code to incorporate responsive design, you should also modify your website such that it’s optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing. If certain site features look good on the desktop version but won’t display correctly on mobile, you’re better off changing this feature or removing it. You also have to account for scrolling difficulties when browsing on mobile. When making content for your site, including navigation tools that minimize how much the user has to scroll. Subdivide your article into headers and add links on top of the page to help users go exactly where they need to.
Conclusion
There are various ways to improve the user experience for site visitors, but responsive design is undoubtedly one of the most important, given that mobile users make up a significant chunk of your consumer base. If you want to do more to improve your website, Philadelphia web design agencies offer consultations and other services necessary for site optimization. With their help, alongside the lessons in this article, you’ll build a website that will surely reflect your brand well.
