All You Need To Know About Creating A Responsive Website
Having a digital presence is crucial for businesses if they want to stay competitive. Clients and potential clients are increasingly looking online first to find out more about what products and services your business can offer—and if you’re not there, you’re missing out.
Without an engaging and responsive website, you run the risk of losing potential customers.
If you’re just starting your business, creating a website can be difficult. There are a number of factors that go into creating a beautiful and responsive website, and you need to be aware of them if you want your business to have the kind of exposure that boosts sales.
What to Consider When Building Your Responsive Website
Here are some things to consider when you’re building your business website.
Get the domain name. Needless to say, this is the most important step. You need a name for your site, one that makes it easy for your customers to find you. However, it doesn’t come free of cost. You have to purchase a domain name and pay an annual fee for registering it. There are free ones (e.g., Blogspot), but they won’t look professional.
Sign up with a web host company. After getting a domain name, you have to link your site to a hosting company, which will make your site live. Since you’re just starting, you can sign up with companies providing free hosting, like Bookmark.
Design your website. You only have a few seconds to catch the attention of web users. If you do not have an eye-catching site, very few people will stick around, which means less revenue. Make sure your website design is simple, but still provides everything your potential customers would like to know.
Test all the pages. When the site is up, make sure to run it across all known browsers and check that all pages and links are loading properly. The site should also be responsive for mobile phones and tablets.
Market your website. You might build a great looking and functioning website but if people aren’t aware of it, it will be a waste. You can use social media marketing to help people find your site, and search engine optimization (SEO) to make sure that it gets found when people do searches online.
6 Reasons to Build a Responsive Website
A website allows you to sell your products worldwide and makes it easier for potential customers to find you, no matter where they are. It helps you expand your reach and, ultimately, grow your business. However, in the extremely competitive online landscape, simply having a website isn’t enough. You need to make sure it works well and is easy to use. Here are some reasons why you need to build a responsive website that works seamlessly on every device.
- Mobile Users
Mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular for performing web searches. In 2019, 63% of Google visits were made from a mobile device in the U.S., with similar statistics for other search engines. This means that a high percentage of your visitors and prospective customers are using their mobile devices to find you, and you need a website that is prepared to give them the best mobile experience.
- Better User Experience
The difference between a mobile-friendly website and a responsive website design is that responsive websites work across all devices and look great on all screen sizes. This means that your website is prepared for visitors using their smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, and more. With a responsive design, you can rest assured that visitors are getting the best user experience no matter what device they use, and that your site and branding are consistent even if they switch devices.
- Improves SEO
Google loves mobile-optimized websites, and is also known for punishing duplicate content. That means you’re decreasing your chances of ranking high on the search engine if you have two different versions of your site for desktop and mobile. Having a responsive website is a win-win when it comes to search engine ranking.
- Saves Money and Time
Paying once is better than paying twice, and having one responsive website instead of two duplicate sites for desktop and mobile is so much better for your bottom line. Not only does it cut your costs in half, it also allows you to cut back on the time you spend maintaining your website. With a responsive design, you can make all changes and perform regular maintenance in one place, freeing up your time and making it easier to maintain your site more consistently.
- Increases Conversion Rates
Just as more people are searching on mobile, more people are also making purchases on their mobile devices. Approximately 40% of consumers use their mobile devices to perform research prior to purchasing something online, and more than half of online shoppers in the U.S. have made purchases from their mobile devices. On the other hand, shoppers are 62% less likely to purchase from you again if they had a bad experience on your mobile store. If your website doesn’t meet consumer demand for mobile capabilities, then they’ll take their business to your competitors.
- It’s The Industry Standard
On top of all the other great reasons for making a responsive website, perhaps the most compelling is that it is already the industry standard. Your competitors are already using responsive design to make a more aesthetically pleasing and functionally efficient website, and customers will notice the difference and take their business elsewhere if you don’t meet this standard.
How to Create a Responsive Website
Now you know all the reasons why creating a responsive website is essential, but how do you create a responsive website that also brings in customers? Here are some ways.
- Keep it Clean and Simple
A lot of web users would agree that more often than not, they’re welcomed by a bunch of text that looks more like an encyclopedia than a business website. There is so much information to take in, that they’d rather click “x” and leave than spend their time searching through the chaos.
A successful website shouldn’t look like a Wikipedia entry. Instead, a successful and responsive website should be clean and user-friendly. It should make the user feel like they’re in a cozy living room — relaxed, comfortable, and very easy to move around.
Aside from that, make sure that there’s a primary navigation area that lists the pages. The content should be in a legible font, such as Verdana, Tahoma, and other fonts that don’t have those little curls (SERIFs).
- Use Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Making websites rank better in major search engines is an entire field of its own, and one that is increasingly in demand. It’s called search engine optimization, or SEO.
In simple terms, SEO makes it easy for people to find your website through search engines. Google, Yahoo!, and Bing are just some of the most common search engines that most internet users go to. While there are professionals out there who can help you, there are some easy steps you can follow to include basic SEO on your webpages, such as using keywords relevant to your business and consistently creating content for your site.
- Make Sure Your Website Is Up To Date
Nothing’s worse than arriving at a website only to see that it’s got outdated information. This is a surefire way to get your visitors to leave quickly. People want to feel that you care about your website as much as you care for your business, and that means performing basic maintenance to keep it up to date.
For example, a website with a footer that says “Copyright 2010” would make users have second thoughts about doing a transaction with that business. That’s why it’s a good practice to update your website regularly.
There’s no doubt that having a presence online is a huge asset to any business. When creating your website and getting your business set up online, make sure you’re thinking of the consumer first and implementing responsive design.
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