Creating a well-optimised and successful website is just like setting a custom made, wide net in the ocean with the hope to catch maximum fish. The result may or may not end up in your favour but one has to include all important considerations in the website design. The Internet world is an ever-changing market with several trends going up and down every day.

Mobile web browsing has replaced the desktop as the first choice device for web users. The dominance of smartphones/Mobiles has given rise to an improved website design for flexible web experience, commonly known as responsive web design. Nowadays, responsive web design is an important component of an engaging website. It provides flexibility and ultimate user experience to the visitor while browsing on any type of device.

Modern society has moved from desktop/computer usage to mobile platform which dominates a major portion of the online industry. The mobile-centric attitude is rapidly growing in society increasing the need for responsive web design. It has compelled professionals to focus on responsive web designs more and more.

WHAT IS RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN?

Many of you would be wondering, “What is responsive web design?” Normally termed as “RWD” (Responsive Web Design), is the approach in which varying CSS style rules, proportion-based grids, and flexible images are used. It aims at providing different user experiences to mobile devices, tablet, and desktop while keeping the same URL and HTML structure.

 Its basic purpose is to make a website easy viewable and accessible on various devices of any size. Users get the best experience possible whether they are on, a new smartphone, a laptop or a tablet. The website adjusts automatically according to the respective device.

Although, it takes a lot of time, effort, and energy to incorporate responsive web design in your website it surely gives worthy results. It is surprising to know that responsive web design affects your SEO score. When you provide a flexible view and a comfortable experience to users with all type of devices especially smartphones, it attracts a huge chunk of internet traffic to your website. Positive user behaviour has a direct bearing on the website ranking and internet traffic count.

WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO USE RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN?

We have explained some of the important factors below which will answer this question and make you consider responsive web design seriously so that you can reap SEO benefits from it.

  1. Google’s Preference

On August 18, 2015, Google’s John Mueller gave a hint of Google’s recommendation for responsive website design, in a Google+ post. Responsive website design is a reliable way to make a website successful in both worlds [desktop & mobile].

Google is created for people who search the internet web. Mobile users are ruling the internet world today and Google is performing accordingly. Therefore, Google favours websites which are designed for better smartphone/Mobile experience. It’s not surprising to know that, such websites are optimised with responsive web design.

Google has made it necessary for website developers to invest in RWD after the release of a new mobile ranking system called “Hummingbird algorithm”. It tells us that Google’s has a preference for the design that supports an adjustable screen size for convenient use on all type of devices.

This favouritism towards responsive website design is also due to the following few critical reasons.

  • Its ability to use a single URL for a site which makes it easier to share and link content with other sites.
  • A single URL also favours a site’s speed as no site redirection is required. It benefits those mobile uses who may have a bad connection.
  • It facilitates Google to index and crawl websites easily unlike mobile-optimised websites which use individual URLs for their tablet, mobile phone, and desktop versions.
  • Smartphone Dominance

Today, smartphones have remarkably made their dominance in everyone’s life. Tasks which were once performed on a desktop or a laptop, are now easily be performed on a smartphone. Moreover, exciting features and options which it provides, have made people addicted to it. This addiction does not seem to decrease soon. Responsive web design has become a vital need for web developers to increase their ranking and user engagement.

As mobile usage increases, it will increase the internet traffic for websites. Now, it’s the best chance for the website professionals to include responsive web design in their websites and attract more and more of this mobile internet traffic. They will be in search of convenience which your website will provide them. It has become necessary for all web industries to incorporate responsive web design in their SEO plan.

  • Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is directly related to the amount of time spent on your website. A visitor enters your website, spends some time and then exits. Sometimes, users exist very quickly or after a few seconds. The duration of time which he has spent in between entering and exiting the site is known as bounce rate. Google analyses bounce rates very critically when ranking the websites. Especially, when users immediately exit the website.

 If they notice that any website has more bounce rate, they lower the ranking of those websites. It is because Google thinks that the website was unable to answer the visitor’s query and he remained unsatisfied with their content. And customer satisfaction is something Google mind very seriously.

Besides content, the design of your page also plays a role in making your visitors stay. If you have excellent content but your design is poor, it will result in a huge bounce rate. Adopting the responsive website design will not only give you a top-notch design, but it will also help you provide your content on an organised, easy to comprehend, and overall clean page. It reduces confusion and makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for. Your bounce rate starts to decrease and your user engagement starts to rise.

  • Duplicate Content

It does not matter how much advanced Google’s crawlers are, they still require assistance from SEOs to detect pages which are most vital to a particular search. Website developers who adopt the option to create a separate website for mobile devices, they face the issue of duplicated content. Although you have different URLs for mobile and desktop websites the content remains the same.

This problem can land your ranking in serious trouble. It confuses google to decide which content is more vital and to be indexed. In the end, you are ranked low. Responsive website design can solve this problem. It saves you from duplicate content trouble. It uses only one URL to view the content regardless of the device. It also save you from focusing your SEO for two websites and you can utilise all your energy on only one website.

  • Website Usability

If users are finding it difficult to navigate your site, there are fewer chances that they will stick around very long. Google values “time on page” as a key factor of a site’s worth for any given search. Responsive web design ensures easy comprehension and navigation on your site. It gives comfortable user experience and resultantly more time on site. Better usability earns you frequently visiting users.

It is a well-known fact that satisfying user queries are what Google business is all about. Google rewards those sites with higher rankings which remain successful to provide a good user experience. A responsive website is a key to the ultimate user experience on all devices.

This factor has a significant value in digital marketing and Businesses. They especially emphasise positive user experience and conversions. Amount of user traffic, Positive feedbacks, and the increase in branded searches have a direct bearing on your website ranking. Smooth user experience can fetch you all. That’s how much important it is. And for such an experience, responsive website design is mainly responsible. It can be considered as the foundation which builds high rankings on search engine and high website usability among users.

  • Page Load Time

Page loading time is one of the key factors Google considers while ranking the websites. In short, faster loading will get you high in rankings. As an SEO planner, it is your responsibility to design your website in such a way that it loads pages as fast as possible.

It’s been observed that sites which are more responsive to mobile are more likely to load faster than the ones which are not. It results in positive user experience making your ranking higher on Google’s chart. Moreover, responsive web design remains your only focus to implement as it will automatically boost the load time and save you from the trouble to take any measures for faster page load especially.

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