- April 9, 2015
- 0
- Email This Post
- Print This Post
Make Your Website More Responsive (Or Else)
Maybe you already know about the importance of responsive web design — how the look and feel of a website should “respond” or conform to the device on which it’s viewed.
With mobile devices growing in popularity and responsive design becoming more crucial to successful online marketing, Google now gives the trend extra urgency with a new memo about SEO (search engine optimization).
If the idea of responsive web design or SEO isn’t clicking with you yet, think about it from another perspective: it’s all about making your website easier to find and use, regardless of the user’s device.
Making The Case For Responsive Design
Still not sure how important it is for your website to be responsive to mobile users? A few statistics should provide some perspective on the mobile market.
- 60% of Internet access is on a mobile device.
- 90% of U.S. adults own a cell phone.
- Over half (58%) of cell phone owners have a smartphone.
In its recent Webmaster Central Blog post, Google announced a major update to its search methodology (again) beginning April 21. The result will see those websites that are responsive, or mobile-friendly, rank higher than sites that are not so compatible with mobile devices. Their intentions couldn’t be clearer:
“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices,” said Google.
Google hasn’t specified a penalty for non-responsive websites, but the reality is that mobile-friendly sites will likely be the first results shown.
If you’re not sure whether your website will comply with Google’s new guidelines, read their Guide to Mobile-Friendly Sites and conduct your own mobile-friendly test.
For more insights into responsive design, read our previous posts: “Responsive Web Design: Any Device, One Seamless User Experience,” and “How To Give Mobile Customers What They Want, Fast.”
