It’s no secret that more and more people are accessing the internet using their mobile devices in addition to or in place of desktop computers. In fact, there are almost 7 billion mobile users worldwide. (For reference, the world population is currently 7.7 billion. That’s a lot of mobile activity.)
But what they’re doing on those mobile devices is even more compelling for marketers like us.
How Mobile Usage Affects Consumer Behavior
40% of consumers use their mobile devices to conduct research prior to making an in-person purchase. More than half routinely make purchases using their smartphones, and 55% of shoppers make mobile purchases after finding products on social media.
As a result, companies that have responsive websites generate more leads and maintain an increasing competitive advantage over companies that don’t.
What is Responsive Website Design?
But what exactly is responsive website design, how does it work, and why should you make the switch? This guide sets out to answer those questions, offer some compelling statistics, and teach you the key features of responsive design all marketers should know about. Let’s get started.
Responsive web design is no longer a suggestion — it’s a critical investment to build your brand awareness, diversify your user experience (UX), and convert more site visitors.
The Benefits of Responsive Web Design
It also saves your business valuable time. You can’t possibly design a separate website for each potential device your visitors may use — not to mention future technologies. Responsive web design ensures your website is compatible with all devices and screens to ensure a delightful experience … both modern-day devices and those yet to be invented.
Why Responsive Web Design is Important
Responsive design allows you to reach a broader, more engaged audience wherever and however they choose to browse.
More importantly, a lack of responsive web design can do the opposite — it can alienate your website from customers looking for an engaging mobile experience. In fact, research shows that you can lose up to 90% of your potential customers due to a poor mobile-friendly experience. That’s a lot of customers — and revenue.
Major Benefits of Responsive Web Design
Let’s unpack three major benefits of responsive web design.
1. Responsive web design helps consumers discover your website.
A lot of people access Google on their mobile devices — 63%, in fact. Google also penalizes websites that don’t offer a responsive design. Its mobile-first indexing can actually impact how your website ranks and can cause it to be bumped down on search engine results pages (SERPs) in favor of websites that offer consumers a mobile-friendly design.
So, if the majority of your audience is searching on their smartphone (as the above statistic says), and your website doesn’t feature a responsive design, customers may not find your website at all.
2. Responsive web design keeps shoppers on your website longer.
Website bounce rates on smartphones are almost 40% (compared to only 27% for tablets). Also, a web page that loads in five seconds or less guarantees 70% longer viewing sessions.
Mobile users expect quick, high-quality website experiences (so does Google) — expectations that you can meet with a responsive website design.
3. Responsive web design builds positive brand recognition and trust with consumers.
Finally, 57% of consumers say they’re not likely to recommend a business with a poorly-designed mobile website. The same report shows that more than half of online shoppers who are disappointed by a business’s online presence are likely to think negatively about the business itself.
Responsive website design delights online shoppers, encourages them to recommend your business, and brings them back to buy more.
How to Make a Responsive Web Design
It is possible to make your own responsive website using CSS and HTML. But this is like taking lengthy backroads when an expressway is available. In this case, the expressway would be a content management system (CMS) or a website builder.
Popular CMS and Site Builder Options for Responsive Design
Responsive web design can be achieved using either a CMS or site builder that facilitates responsive designs. Here are a few common choices.
CMS Hub
CMS Hub is a fully-hosted, fully-integrated CMS. It connects to your other HubSpot tools so you can present a unified marketing, sales, service, and site browsing experience for your visitors, customers, and employees.
WordPress
WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS and maintains this superlative by offering one of the most straightforward website builders — the Gutenberg editor. WordPress offers thousands of themes and templates to start with, including numerous templates with responsive design.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a popular site builder that offers gorgeous site designs and creative tools. It offers 60 mobile-optimized templates from which you can choose to quickly build your site.
Wix
Wix is another site builder that offers free and paid website subscriptions. It provides an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor, free hosting, and security features. All Wix templates provide a mobile-optimized experience for visitors.
Responsive Web Design Best Practices
With an intuitive CMS or site builder, responsive design is easy. But even if you’re using the very best CMS, it can’t compensate for mobile-friendly content and media — that part is up to you. Let’s talk about some responsive web design best practices to help you create the most mobile-friendly web experience for your visitors and customers.
1. Don’t neglect your buttons.
What do you want site visitors to do when they land on your website? Take action, right? If CTAs pop up or scroll on desktop, make sure they are accessible on mobile too.
2. Use scalable vector graphics.
If your website includes illustrations or icons, they should be formatted as scalable vector graphics (SVGs). SVGs can be scaled infinitely, ensuring your website provides a high-quality experience for users on any device.
3. Make sure your images scale.
Consider uploading different image resolutions and designating which image you want to display on each device. This is typically achieved by assigning different “media” tags in your website code.
4. Consider your typography.
A font that looks great on your desktop site may not read well on a mobile device. Here’s some advice for typography:
- 16pt body type is the rule of thumb for desktop and mobile.
- Avoid overly thin fonts.
- Make sure all headings are clearly larger than body text.
- Use contrasting colors to make typography stand out.
5. Take advantage of device features.
Consider changing CTAs to “Call Now!” on mobile and prompt users to open your app if applicable.
6. Test your website often.
Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to see how your site performs across various devices and browsers.
Responsive Web Design Templates
The best way to ensure your website has a responsive design is to start with a responsive web design template. Below are five gorgeous templates available on HubSpot Asset Marketplace that will give your site visitors a mobile-friendly browsing experience.
DjanGo Responsive Design Template
Price: $200
Prodigy Responsive Design Template
Price: Free
Quantum Responsive Design Template
Price: $75
Kalahari Responsive Design Template
Price: $199
Startup Framework Responsive Design Template
Price: Free
Respond to Your Audience with Responsive Design
With so many consumers shopping and browsing on their mobile devices, responsive design is an absolute must-have. Without it, you could be missing out on leads, customers, and revenue.
Use these tools, templates, and best practices to get started with responsive web design today.