After MobileGeddon: How to Adapt to the Future of Web Design

You have implemented a responsive design, created a site that works well with screens of all sizes, and survived MobileGeddon. Congratulations! Of course, you know that in today’s fast-evolving digital world, there already has to be a way to get a leg up on the competition by providing an even better user experience.

You are right. Experts predict that within the next five years, we will see the web evolve from mobile-friendly to mobile-first. You have responded; now it’s time to adapt.

Responsive Web Design: The Next Phase

Responsive web design is the idea that a site should not only look presentable on any screen, but it should also look as though it were designed for that screen. For example, if a user is looking at your site on a tablet, the ‘click to call’ button would not appear. Not only does this free up more space on the screen for items that are relevant to the user at that moment, but it also frees up bandwidth.

This leads us to the next major benefit that responsive design provides users – faster page load speeds. Servers usually work faster than tablets and smartphones. With responsive design, you deliver content to the mobile device via the server. Once your site’s content and modules are all on the server, they are cached there, meaning they are temporarily stored. So every time users click on another link on your site, they don’t have to wait for all that code to be reprocessed before the page can load. It’s waiting for them right there on the server, for as long as they are on your site.

Are My Competitors Using Responsive Web Design?

Yes, many of them are. The scramble to start using responsive design is fueled not only by competition with other websites but also by competition with apps. When it comes to tablets or smartphones, user perception of what to expect is based on experience with apps. This is established by the fact that apps tend to have much higher engagement than regular web browsers, which, according to Igor Faletski of Mobify Insights, they do.

Your web strategy needs to meet this user expectation to stay ahead of the game, and that is exactly where responsive design comes in. Adaptive design allows you to offer a very personal experience that takes into consideration what type of device the user is on, where the user is located, and many other discerning factors.

In all, the benefits of implementing responsive web design are:

  • Delivering to the user only what is necessary, based on device.
  • Faster page load speed.
  • Mimic the user experience provided by apps.
  • Higher engagement.

By creating a mobile-friendly website with a responsive design, you have shown a commitment to staying ahead of the curve and the competition. This is a never ending battle, but the reward is a quality website that offers a great user experience, which in turn leads to more traffic, more engagement, and more conversions.

Implementing an responsive web design to your site will require some research on your part. If you are a web savvy person with a sufficient knowledge of coding and HTML, you may be able to do it yourself. Otherwise, there is an increasing number of companies that recognize this need and offer it as a service. These sites can detect what sort of device a user is visiting your site from and can cater content to that user. Only the modules that particular user can benefit from will show up on the screen, making it easier for that user to find what he or she is looking for quickly and decreasing page load speed.

You will likely see many sites follow this route over the next five years, especially as wearable technology becomes more and more prevalent. Acting now means that you will be ahead of the curve. Now that you have this information, there is no need to scramble at the last minute or wait until it is too late, as did so many who did not survive MobileGeddon.

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