Many businesses started building mobile sites as a response to the growing trend of people using mobile devices to surf the net. But a better solution has come along in responsive web design (RWD). This is a type of design where your website detects the platform that is being used and automatically responds by displaying a website that is optimized and formatted for the platform. For example, a website may display the standard design on a PC, but it will show a different design when viewed on a mobile phone.
Why Use Responsive Web Design Over Mobile Sites?
If you’ve already invested in a mobile site design, it may seem like there isn’t much incentive for you to switch over to a responsive design. However, the benefits heavily outweigh the costs of switching to another design. One strong reason you should switch is that it’s challenging to promote both your main and mobile site.
Somebody may have heard about your site and decided to use the regular site only to be presented with a poor user experience. Creating awareness about your mobile site is a big task and it will probably get overshadowed by your main site. With a responsive design, this won’t be a problem because your main site will be user friendly on all platforms.
How Responsive Design Helps SEO and Mobile Search
With mobile search becoming one of the most effective channels for getting customers, it’s important that you invest in it. If you use a mobile site, you have to build content and links for both your main and mobile site, which can spread you pretty thin. But this is not the case with responsive design.
Since you are using one site, all your content and links contribute to both mobile search and regular search. This will cost the amount of time, money and effort you need to put into making your search campaigns successful. As a matter of fact, Google even recommends that webmasters follow the best practice of using RWD.
Many users also say responsive sites appear better than mobile-specific sites. You cannot dismiss the fact that mobile sites are usually only designed for mobile phones, and ignores other mobile devices like eReaders and tablets. The bottom line is that responsive design is the way to go.
If you need help creating a responsive site, we can help you. We’ve worked responsive design into many platforms such as WordPress, Drupal and Magento. Feel free to contact us for any questions.