For the ones who are ignorant or unfamiliar with the term responsive websites, they are websites that are compatible across all devices from a huge desktop monitor down to a tablet or smartphone. They provide a seamless viewing experience for users of different devices. Many people use more than one device to view online content on any given day. They may look at a website on a computer at work and then return later on a smartphone. But they expect to be able to see all of the same content no matter what devices they happen to be using.

A responsive website delivers the best user-experience across all devices. Having a responsive web design can also prepare you for technological changes in the future. New devices with different screen sizes will be introduced and a website with responsive web design can adapt easily to the expected changes.

Google and Responsive Websites

Google is built for users. It is for the millions who are searching on the web. And Google is the most used search engine today. Users are accessing Google through various mediums, from a mobile phone to a laptop. Google will obviously act accordingly and favor those sites that meet the needs of the Google users. Google encourages responsive web design because it makes things easier for Google and improves the user experience. If there is only one version of a website, Google will only need to crawl and index one site.

Having a responsive design makes it easier for users to find and share content across devices, resulting in a good user experience. The designers at Orange County Website Design are renowned for creating mobile responsive websites for your smartphone or tablet. Now the question that arises is that do responsive websites really attract traffic? If yes, then how do they do that? Let me list down 10 ways in which responsive websites succeed in getting high traffic.

1.Faster Page Speed

Google, over the years, has stated that fast-loading sites are favored in search results. This is one of the reasons why Google recommends responsive websites. Responsive website will adapt to the screen of the device and load faster providing a better user experience. Hence every website should be optimized to load as quickly as possible as page loading times is an important factor that is considered while giving ranking in search engine results.

2.Lower Bounce Rate

Users hate it when a particular website is slow and difficult to use. Users look for websites that are easy and quick in responding. If your website does not adapt to the user’s device and the page loading speed decreases then the user will definitely go back and look for more responsive websites. Faster sites that are easier to use will encourage visitors to use your site. A responsive website, therefore, will reduce the bounce rate with fast loading and easy to use navigation.

3. Preferred For Seo

Google and the other search engines show preferences for responsive websites. Keyword performance can help you create a responsive website that will help your business improve your SEO and increase conversions. In order to improve their search results for mobile users, Google is now going to change their algorithm so that the results of the responsive websites appear higher in the search engine results.

4. Less Duplicate Content

It is a hard task to get noticed online. But if you have good SEO then it is possible to increase traffic on your website. The ones who have designed separate mobile sites have to face duplicate content issues because having a separate website for mobile requires a separate URL. The content on the mobile and the desktop site remains the same but the URLs are different. This hampers the Google search rankings and hence you fail to attract traffic to your website. A responsive website provides you with a single URL irrespective of the device and thereby focusing your SEO on a single site.

5. Convert Mobile Traffic

Presently there is a major shift from desktop preference to mobile. More and more consumers are browsing online using mobile devices instead of desktops. Maximum number of people, nowadays, uses the internet on their smartphones or tablet. People like to visit websites that are quick and responsive. Hence, maximum traffic can be directed through mobile phones to your website. If your website is not responsive and cannot adapt itself to changing devices quickly then your bounce rate will be high and conversions will be low. If it is responsive, users will be able to scroll through your website quickly, thereby increasing traffic and online purchases and enquiries.

6. Optimized Marketing Strategies

The most important required element to achieve the goal of any enterprise is a good marketing strategy. Every business aims to earn as many customers from the target audience as possible. Responsive websites help in fulfilling this agenda as they tend to work smoothly in a variety of media and device types – desktops, tablet, smartphones etc. Thus, your website can be accessed by a larger audience which in turn will increase traffic on your website and attract more potential customers.

7. Enhance User Experience

Remember the time when you are searching for a certain topic and you finally think you have found it. But as soon as you open the link it reads- Go To Full Site. So frustrating, right? Fortunately with responsive websites there has been a change. Now there is no redirection, no awkward page or site renditions which appear different on the different platforms or may not load properly in many cases, and no duplicate content either. There is a website with same appearance and works equally well on all available devices. This helps in improving the user experience and attracts more traffic to your website leading to increase in conversions.

8. Improved Conversion Rates

As discussed in the previous point, responsive website enhances user experience. Hence by providing a seamless user experience, the chances of increasing conversion rates is higher. This is possible because your website reaches a larger audience now. For example, a mobile responsive site doesn’t need redirection, which in turn increases load times. This means that a user searching for a product or service on your website will find it easily and faster and thereby increase the chances of making a purchase.

9. Boost Social Sharing

Responsive websites work on making the life of the most dominant group online- the smartphone or tablet users. They try to make social sharing easier for this section of internet users. Although social sharing won’t have a direct impact on your rankings but it will help in the growth of an audience for your website. A bigger audience will imply increased traffic and your brand will be searched more. This will for sure attract Google’s attention to your site. A website, on the other hand, not designed to work smoothly with the various devices will have a difficult time garnering an audience and convincing them to try social sharing on desktops or other devices.

10. Stay Relevant

Last and the most important point is to keep up with the changing time. If you fail to update your website to the latest responsive trends, you will not only lose a section of your visitors, but will also miss out on the chance to get new ones from various other platforms. By employing the latest technology for designing your site, you not only enhance the user experience but also your website looks great when displayed across all platforms. This will increase your traffic and lower the bounce rates.

Conclusion

With all this being said, we need to remember that all of this works to bring in more traffic and help turn more of your website visits into conversions, boosting your online profitability and overall revenue. Today, the design of your website must the capability to adapt to the medium your visitors will be viewing it from, be it a laptop, a desktop, a smartphone, a tablet or any other type of device.

So if you have still not taken the road to responsive web design then, trust me, you are missing out on an amazing opportunity to boost your business. Don’t waste any more time. Get going!