Mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) now account for 56% of web traffic, this is constantly rising. It has never been more important to ensure your site performs properly and looks great across all devices.

Ye Olden Days

Go back a few years and a website consisting of a few static html pages was pretty normal for most small businesses. They would simple outline what products or services were available and give information on how to make contact. They were not particularly easy for a business owner or member of staff to update so quickly they became stale and out of date.

Then along came the Content Management System, which allows you log in to your website and make instant updates. A special offer, some important news, adding a photo to your website, adding products, changing copy on pages, all easily and instantly achievable from anywhere with internet connection. This also opened up interaction, with customers able to comment on your website, log into their customer area etc. Still websites were designed with fixed widths that fitted conveniently onto the standard size and shape of a desktop monitor.

Problems Arise

Simultaneously, smart phones and tablets started to become more and more popular. Customers were increasingly using their mobile devices to visit websites, which didn’t always display very well on them. Many businesses were sold stand-alone mobile websites that displayed properly on the small screens. These were usually basic text based websites.
The problem now was that content was duplicated. If you wanted to change something on your website, perhaps the price of a product or announce an offer, you had to do it twice, once on the desktop site and again on the mobile site. Quickly and understandably, for many this became a chore and led to one or the other not being updated or just a very basic mobile site that didn’t contain all of the content available on the desktop site.

The Solution

How would this problem be solved? A man named Ethan Marcotte had noticed this problem and fortunately he had an idea of how to fix it. His solution became known as responsive web design. Whether the user is visiting a website on a tablet, their smartphone, a laptop, or a desktop they will see the same website. The webpages will automatically reorient and organise themselves to fit the device’s screen being used to view it. User interfaces (menus) are automatically reformatted so that they work better on a touch screen or with a mouse depending on how they re being viewed.

The Benefits

With responsive web design, your website has the right design for every device and gives every user a good experience. It will even save you money from both a web design and administration standpoint. You only need to design one website, and you only need to maintain one website. It also produces the most seamless, high-quality experience you can provide to your users who are likely to browse your website on multiple devices. Responsive web design really does give you the best of both worlds.

Customers are looking for your business online using a range of devices, can you afford not to have a website that gives the right impression of your business whatever device they use?

Assist-U offer responsive web site packages, with full content management systems and 6 months free hosting from just £300.

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