Mobile Friendly & Responsive Website Design
Mobile and Responsive is having a user-friendly and efficient mobile version of your website. Why is it important? As of the fourth quarter in 2015, mobile devices produced 43 percent of organic search engine visits in the United States. This number is projected to grow each year, upping the ante on having a functional and user-friendly mobile website. But as access to websites change, so do the options for creating a mobile website.
The importance of a user-friendly and efficient mobile website was emphasized further when Google released a new mobile friendly ranking algorithm in April 2015, dubbed Mobilegeddon or Mobilepocalyse by some. The straightforward algorithm was designed to give a higher ranking to mobile friendly sites in Google’s mobile search results. This means either your site is mobile friendly or it isn’t. And the lower your ranking, the less likely potential consumers will find your business in the first few pages of their search results.
Time To Update Your Mobile Website?
At first, mobile websites were the ‘it crowd.’ Businesses and companies were directing customers to a website prefixed with “m.” or “mobile.” The address would then be https://m.yourdomain.com or https://mobile.yourdomain.com. But now, the lowercase m has all but vanished. It is giving way to responsive websites that adjust automatically, regardless of the device the site is accessed on. But what makes them different from one another?
A mobile website is essentially a copy of the desktop website, relying on a server to deliver the optimized page for the smart device. It requires a separate domain, where the “m.” comes in, and needs constant maintenance to stay current with the newest smartphones and mobile browsers. A mobile website can be viewed on a cellular website or WiFi network. The site needs to load quickly or people will leave the site.
A responsive website will adjust the screen size and or orientation of the device you are viewing it on. In other words, it shows just as great on a tablet, desktop or smartphone and whether it’s portrait or landscape (holding your phone or tablet sideways.) Another specific feature of responsive is the ability to keep your desktop domain. This plays into not having to reprogram the website whenever a new smartphone or tablet is released. From content to design and navigation and method of interaction, everything is adapted. Elevare builds websites that load quickly, look great and work the way they should, whether your visitors are using the latest devices and browsers or are in need of an upgrade.
However, mobile friendly websites are not interchangeable with iOS or Android based apps, though both apps and responsive mobile websites provide a great user experience on a mobile device.
Responsive Development
Building Your Website
When building your website, Elevare will design your site with all of these aspects in mind. We think about how your website visitors will view your site and get the best experience when dealing with your brand.
Familiarity of Your Desktop Site
Use the current familiarity of your desktop website to create functional navigation on your mobile site. Carry over popular categories, navigation menu, high-quality images, search feature. If you have an e-commerce mobile website, make the checkout process as convenient as possible. Just as in a brick and mortar store, nobody likes waiting in line, especially online.
Clean and Practical Design
Clean and simple design with practicality and usefulness reigns. A smaller screen requires less clutter, allowing a user to quickly navigate the page and find what they are looking for. Only provide content needed to properly use the site. Allow for intuitive buttons and menus, such as a hamburger menu, aptly named due to the three horizontal lines that are commonly used slightly resemble the bun and hamburger patty.
Compatibility
At Elevare, we use many tools and technologies to view a client’s website on every platform before it is launched, including Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems, and Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge and Firefox browsers.
Every site we build is responsive and mobile friendly. In today’s online community, the need for people to be able to interact with your company in as many ways possible is crucial. It can be the difference between gaining a customer and being skipped over.
