Responsive Web Design, or RWD, ensures that your site will adapt to be viewed on any size screen. From a desktop, to a tablet, a phone, or a “phablet”, you will be able to navigate a webpage without zooming in or out to see content. The good thing about RWD, as opposed to having a separate mobile site, is that no matter what device you view a page on it uses the same URL. This assures that if someone shares a link from a mobile site, and you view it on a desktop, you won’t see the same stripped down version of the original site as is viewed on a smart phone.
Why Is It Important to Me?
There are two MAJOR reasons why this should be important to you:
- For Your Users
First and foremost – it is user friendly! As of May 2013, almost two-thirds of cell owners used their phone to go online and this number is on the rise. Mobile responsiveness ensures that your site will be easily view-able to those accessing it from a phone or tablet. Google has and will always place user experience high on their ranking factors. It should be our priority too.
- For Your Rankings
Google has become the most popular search engine in the world with 67% of the search market share in 2014. So when Google says something is important, we should probably listen up. Looking at the aftermath of Google’s Panda update, which targeted the quality of content, we can see the huge effect it had on many sites that had less than desirable content.
The chart below shows the plummet in search visibility of a handful of sample sites in the aftermath of Panda.
So…What Can I Do Right Now?
Make sure that your site has a responsive design and can be viewed easily on any platform.
If you email Pathfinders now, we can do a free check for you of your site to tell you if it passes Google’s qualifications or not – something that can’t be done by simply opening up your site on a phone.
What are you waiting for? Contact us.