Why is responsive web design necessary in 2022?

Who else knows someone who doesn't have a smartphone of some kind? Are there still people who do not use a smartphone in their daily lives? Whether it's work, study, play, whatever. Of course, there are still people in the world who cannot afford to own a more expensive mobile phone because of their financial situation, or who are simply not interested in this kind of gadget, but their number is decreasing. And that number will only get smaller and smaller as we move forward in time. This is why it is important that if you have any kind of website, you develop a mobile-friendly, or responsive, version of it as soon as possible. 

What does it mean to have a mobile-friendly website? What is responsiveness?

In the past, this concept was not widespread at all, as people only used home computers, and later laptops, for work, study, or entertainment. Today, fewer and fewer people sit at home when they need to do things online, preferring to do them more quickly and easily on their mobile phones.

I think it's clear to you now what we mean by responsiveness. If a website is responsive, it can reach a lot more people. But why? 

Already since 2016, 60% of people surf the web only via mobile devices. By 2021, 3.8 billion people will have a smartphone. And not only did they have them, they still do in 2022. As I said, that number will not be any less unless smartphones are replaced by something better and smarter than smartphones. 

Many companies research before they develop a mobile-friendly websites. Of course, this is both time and money-consuming. But it also takes time and money for a company to assess which devices are the most popular. So I suggest you don't spend money on this. Spend it on developing a mobile-friendly site as soon as possible, because that's where the world is going. After that, of course, you can think further in terms of a mobile app, but for now, let's stick to why it's important to have a mobile-friendly site in 2022 and beyond. 

The responsiveness 

Responsiveness means that a website can adapt to different screen sizes. So it can be used in the same way on a mobile, a laptop, and a tablet. The page does not slide around. It remains readable and transparent. So the content can adapt to the screen size of the device - its width and length. This doesn't mean that you should abandon computer-friendly websites, as many people still browse the web through them, but it shouldn't be the only focus. Many companies have a dual approach to their websites. This means that they have a primary, i.e. computer-based website, and a secondary, mobile version. But this of course involves double costs, both in terms of money and time. Plus, it's not good for SEO if companies use this method. 

Why do we need responsive web design for SEO? 

So, as I mentioned before, there are two ways to make websites mobile friendly. Either you use the dual option, which is not very efficient because of the additional costs, or you develop a responsive web design from scratch. If you want your website to be SEO-friendly, I would definitely recommend the latter. You're probably wondering why I think so, but don't worry I won't leave you in any doubt. 

So, the reason why you should use responsive design for SEO is that such websites can adapt to the screen size in one go. Plus, Google now only looks at the mobile design of your website. Therefore, it doesn't matter if you want to pay attention to SEO, and who wouldn't pay attention to SEO, you should stick to responsive web design. 

Speaking of SEO and responsiveness, it's also interesting to note that only these pages appear in the organic results. So if your website is responsive, it will rank higher in organic results than pages that are not. What an SEO secret, right? 

The speed 

In the fast-paced world we live in, people can't and don't want to wait long for a page to load. If it doesn't load in time, they leave the site. Thus, the bounce rate of your site will increase, which will worsen your SEO. I must say that you can't have a slower website loading speed on mobile than on a computer. It should be faster. Think about it, you are traveling on the bus and you need to quickly check which stop to get off at, but the page doesn't load on your phone. By the time it's loaded and you've passed your stop, you're sure to stop browsing this site because it's slow. People don't have time for that. Make your website fast, on all devices.Many things can slow down your website. Whether it's the resolution of images or videos. Of course, if you're thinking that you're not going to put images and videos on your website just to make it slow, that's not a good solution. You need them. They contribute to the user experience, as does the loading speed of the site. So I suggest you use them liberally but don't forget to optimize them. If you take these aspects into account, you will have an SEO-friendly website in your hands. 

How should the web design look if it is responsive? 

Responsive design means that the website works and adapts well on both mobile and desktop devices. On mobile devices, the user experience is limited. I recommend using fewer ads and social media links, as they can degrade the quality of the site on mobile. Of course, the more phones, the more screen sizes. So your website should work perfectly on each screen size, it shouldn't be distorted, plus the images should adapt to the size. The role of touchscreen smartphones, tablets, and even touchscreen laptops is becoming more and more important these days. This year, 6.64 billion people use touchscreen devices in their daily lives. 

You've probably experienced that the touchscreen doesn't always respond to clicks the way you imagined. If there are multiple instances where a site visitor can't navigate a touchscreen interface properly, it's not going to be good for your SEO. Therefore, make sure that the buttons and icons on touch interfaces are larger so that they are easy to touch with fingertips. 

If the touchscreen is not able to work properly for the given touches, this can also lead to a drop in the conversion rate. The reason I think this is important to mention is that conversion rate is important because it can show you what percentage of your site visitors have reached their actual destination. If your website is not able to function properly on either a computer device or a mobile device, it will show up in a drop in conversion rate. That's why it's important to emphasize developing each step of your website. 

Designing a responsive website is not easy, but the process is so common now that there are many pre-existing applications available that can help you easily develop a responsive website.

Summary  

As we experience in our daily lives, when we conduct searches on our mobile phones, they are usually not very complex. People like to look up products online, even in the process of buying them. Many times people search for weather and opening hours via their mobile. So, when we talk about mobile device searches, they are not always for complex things. But we shouldn't forget that a responsive website contributes to making the site SEO-friendly and also enhances the user experience. So, I recommend that you develop a responsive web design first, then mobile apps can come after. Good luck!