Responsive Web Design Ireland: Understanding the Importance.

Modern consumers are picky when it comes to either web design or responsive web design.

Web Design Ireland appreciates the fact and has adapted its design strategy to take advantage of this.

We are spoilt for choice and want instant access to information at the click of a mouse, or the touch of a screen.

We’ve become accustomed to immediate gratification.

And we’ll certainly not entertain the thought of struggling to read an interesting article, or view photos of interest on a website.

 

 

How annoying is it, when you click onto a website with photographs that only partially fit your smartphone screen?

Or when you have to try and maneuver paragraphs of copy with your finger in order to read them?   

Luckily, there are specialist web developers like Web Design Ireland, who have the necessary skills to build responsive websites, that synergize with various digital platforms.  

If you’re a consumer, well then you know what to do when this happens.

Just look for another website that is more responsive to your needs.

If you’re a digital marketer or operate in the ecomm environment, you’ll need to ensure that your customers do not ever experience this on any of your digital platforms.  

 

What Is Responsive Web Design?

Remember the days of static website design, where your website looked great on your computer screen, but on nothing else.

Well, that certainly does not cut it anymore. 

Website builders in Ireland understand that responsive web design is all about ensuring a great user experience for anyone who visits your website. 

A positive user experience will hopefully lead to interaction, conversion, and ultimately, a sale. 

Basically, a responsive website is one that responds appropriately to a user’s behavior and adapts to the relevant device being used.

This may be a smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer. 

Each time a user views a website on a different device, it automatically adapts the design to suit different resolutions, screen sizes, and even script layout.

In short, you will see the same content, only in a slightly different layout, depending on the size and shape of the device’s screen.

Responsive web design alleviates the need to completely customize a website for each individual platform or even brand of a single device.

So, you and your customers can enjoy a consistent brand experience wherever you visit the website.

Say, you currently have an older static website.

Then you’ll need to make decisions about whether to rehash your current site and adapt to start from scratch, with a new bespoke website that meets the needs of your customer. 

 

Why Is Responsive Web Design Such a Big Deal?

The answer to this question is simple – mobile optimization! 

Consider the fact that globally, mobile phones now account for well over 50% of website traffic annually. 

How you may wonder, can one even consider designing a website for desktop only?

Now more than half your potential customers are using mobile phones to search for products or services?

Stupid it may seem, but this is still a relatively common occurrence in business.

 

Responsive Web Design and Seo

Responsive web design has a profound effect on the search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities of your site.

That’s because it directly affects organic search engine rankings on Google and other search engines. 

A poor website design will lower your search rankings and you’ll find your company or brand lower down the list of search results. 

And that in turn will directly affect your company’s bottom line. 

 

Challenges of Responsive Design?

Like anything in life, there are various challenges involved in developing a responsive website.

Luckily, however, they can be solved by specialists like Web Design Ireland.

They will save you a lot of time and money, by pre-empting problems and solving them before your site goes live.

While potential problems are rather technical in nature, it’s always good to be aware of some of the more common ones.

This is to be able to relate to your developers’ needs and to support where necessary. 

Common issues include:

 

Ensuring that images and icons are responsive enough to suit different devices

Images are often critical to the quality of a website and will need to be scaled to suit various screen sizes and optimized to suit users with slower connections. 

 

Making sure that navigation is easy

The navigation bar should be kept aesthetically pleasing, uncluttered, and as simple as possible.

So that the user experience is positive and hassle-free across all devices.  

 

Ensuring readability of data on small screens

When there is lots of data to be displayed, developers use tables for bigger screens like desktops.

Complex tables just don’t work well on mobile phone screens.

This can be solved by using charts instead of tables, using fewer columns, and other techniques. 

 

Trying to adapt for older browsers 

Asking your developers to adapt a responsive website design to support older browsers, is a huge waste of resources.

Older technology and new specifications sometimes just don’t gel.

You’re unlikely to lose too many customers by trying to accommodate an old browser, so it’s a case of “out with the old and in with the new”. 

 

Affordable Websites

It’s a no-brainer when it comes to considering whether or not to allocate more resources to the development and management of your website.

Time to scrap your old static site (if you have one) and move your company forward into the present. 

Investment into a new responsive web design is a prerequisite if you want to remain competitive.

Growth in turnover and the improvement in your bottom line will make the investment more than affordable.

 

 

Website Builder Ireland

Cliqued Media is Ireland’s leading digital marketing agency and web partner.

With a single mouse-click or a phone call, you could change the fortunes of your company forever.

We’ll work closely with you to develop an affordable website.

Or it could be a digital marketing strategy that will help to grow your business and improve your bottom line.

And we’ll be there with all the support that you need along the way.