Who Needs Responsive Web Design?

In the present era of Digital Marketing, there is a multitude of inbound marketing strategies that one can take a pick from. But every business today is cognizant of the first basic thumb rule of online marketing- having a well-designed, user-friendly and appealing website that can augment the process of lead conversions for all potential leads who visit your site. The rising prominence of smart phone and tablet users cannot be ignored in this regard, and in order to cash in on your website to the fullest, accommodating the needs of these end users who access your site using mobile technology is necessary. This is exactly where the consideration of opting for a responsively designed website comes into picture, and on a lighter note, the question of who needs responsive web design should probably be rephrased to who doesn’t need responsive web design!

The “Hard-to-Ignore” Aspects

Whether you are an advocate of Responsive Web Design or not, there are several compelling features and positive attributes of this kind of design that one cannot afford to ignore. In addition to the need for websites to adapt to ever-changing technology, and ensure compatibility with the latest browsing devices, the fact that Google has officially recognized the concept of responsive design as one of the best practices for a multi-device site, and the advantages of providing a seamless and uniform user experience irrespective of the browsing device being used, goes a long way in consolidating a strong brand image for your business. Lesser expenses incurred over developing, maintaining and updating separate desktop and mobile websites in the long run are other aspects that are hard to ignore.

Steering Clear of an Overly Generalized Picture

Responsive Web Designing is certainly the most “talked about” topic in the realm of Digital Marketing today. But what most digital marketers do not realize is that, despite the growing necessity of responsive web design to keep pace with mobile technology, one needs to refrain from trying to sell Responsive Web Design as a fit-for-all package, and accord higher priority towards understanding the client’s needs first. To start with, one needs to analyse the structure, profile, offerings and market segmentation of the business, along with an in-depth review of their existing website. Further on, a look at their current website analytics in order to find out how many potential customers use mobile phones or tablets to access their website, an analysis of what these set of users are specifically looking for, and whether their percentage really justifies the need for the business to invest additional money, time and efforts in a responsive design. Weighing all these, and several more subjective factors pertaining to the company, business or organization will help in gaining better clarity on the fact whether it really requires a responsively designed website or not.

The Ultimate Question

Responsive design is definitely suited to, and is in fact a necessity for most businesses today, but it is equally necessary to check its relevance to your business first, rather than blindly going for it. For instance, if you are a well-established e-commerce business with fast-moving product categories, you might need separate desktop and mobile websites despite the doubling of your investment and efforts, because mobile users would want fast uploading, minimal content and quick access to the products that they are looking to purchase immediately. Hence, their needs would have to be catered separately since the responsive standard layout of your site would only hamper the user experience of those who are looking to make a quick purchase using their mobile phones. However in case your desktop as well as mobile users have similar content requirements, a responsively designed website should be your preferred option!