Introduction
In the current world, people have different ways to browse the internet; some use desktop computers, while others use laptops, tablets, or smartphones. According to MobiLoud, about 63% of global web traffic is from mobile, 35% from desktop, and 2% from tablet. People use their smartphones to shop, read the news, watch videos, and, most importantly, search for information. If a website is not responsive, it can reduce user interaction, leading users to leave and lower site traffic. This is the reason why responsiveness is very crucial in modern web development.
User Experience
One of the significant reasons why a website should be responsive is to improve the user experience (UX). A user is more engaged on a website that does not seem to be broken and works across all devices. The navigation is easy when the website is more responsive, and it improves the visibility. On the other hand, if a website is difficult to use on a phone or a tablet, the user experience decreases, and the user does not feel like staying on the site.
A responsive design keeps the users more comfortable on the site, and it assures that the website is legit without any sort of catch. This way, the user stays on the site for the maximum amount of time, which increases the traffic on the website.
Increasing Number of Mobile Users
Like I previously mentioned, a well-organized website has a better chance of having an engaging user; most people use websites through their mobile devices, which increases the significance of mobile devices. The use of websites on a mobile device has been growing for many years now. Before 2016, the desktop used to be the main hub for users to go to websites and browse, but ever since smartphones came out, the number of websites being opened on mobile devices has been growing.
According to StatCounter, about 10-15% of global traffic was done on mobile devices in 2012, then in 2013-15 the number jumped from 15% to 40%, and by 2016, about 48% of websites were being opened on mobile devices, which was almost equal to desktop. By late 2016, the mobile traffic had officially passed desktop and became the majority for websites. These numbers prove that nowadays mobile users are the key assets of technology, most of the things are done on mobile devices, including browsing the internet, giving another plus point to why every website should be responsive.
SEO Visibility
Another main reason for a responsive website is SEO visibility. A responsive website improves the search engine optimization (SEO). You might be asking what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is. It basically means improving your website so it shows up higher or faster on search engines like Google or Bing. So, improving the responsiveness of the website could help boost its popularity of the website. This happens because search engines like Google prefer websites that work across all platforms, because it provides a better experience for users, and big companies know that most internet browsing is done on mobile nowadays, so they prefer to show the responsive websites earlier.
The Speed of The Website
According to Tenet, 53% of website users leave a website if it takes more than three seconds to load, and 47% of users expect a page to load in 2 or fewer seconds. This is the reason why having a fast website is necessary, and the responsiveness of a website also determines the loading speed of a webpage. The images and layouts can adjust depending on the screen size of the device, and if they are not adjusted properly, the website could become slow, hurting the SEO and the traffic on the website.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a responsive website is very important because it is a game-changer when it comes to the digital world. Responsiveness improves the user experience (UX), supports mobile users while prioritizing their experience on the website, and most importantly, it helps boost the SEO of the website.