People search for local small businesses on multiple devices. If you operate a small business in a specific location, potential customers can find you through a Web search conducted on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
To make sure your website doesn’t turn customers away, you need to ask yourself if it looks good and functions well on any screen size.
What is responsive design?
For those that are not familiar with the term ‘responsive web design’, the simplest definition I can give is that a responsive web site is optimized for viewing (i.e. looks good) on different types of devices, screens and resolutions. In other words, the design adapts to the available viewing space offering the user a nice experience without having to move left and right with a scroll bar or zoom-in, zoom out in order to read the text or view an image.
What is not a responsive design? A website that looks exactly the same on mobile as it looks on the desktop (but in smaller size) is not a responsive design. With a responsive design you can read, navigate and interact with a website on the device of your choice without having to zoom in or out.
Why are responsive websites critical for local marketing?
Business 2 Community recently published two articles that show why a responsive site is essential for marketing your small business.
In one article, they mention that responsive websites provide a uniformly high-quality user experience, no matter what device prospective customers use to visit your site. As such, they’re less likely to hit the back button and seek a competitor’s website. Your site will always look professional and allow customers to easily engage with it.
The other article features an infographic with statistics relevant to local SEO. Roughly half the people who use a smartphone for local business searches will visit a local business that same day. If your website doesn’t show up clearly on mobile devices, they’ll have a harder time discovering relevant information about your business, such as your address, phone number, hours of operation, and the types of products and services you offer.
A responsive website ensures that you’re always accessible to customers, no matter what device they’re using. These days, people carry mobile devices everywhere and use them for last-minute searches for local businesses. You’re giving your competitors an edge if you neglect to make your website responsive.
You are preparing for the future
The future of the web is mobile and it is estimated that by 2017 more than 5 billion people will use mobile phones. These are numbers and figures you cannot ignore and if you are not convinced that a responsive website can help your business now, it will certainly do in the next few years.
Conclusion
A responsive website design is a must for all types of websites. Whether you are selling products online, promoting your services or running ads a responsive design can help you increase your traffic, make more conversion or earn more from your ads. Almost all websites can be made responsive, the cost depends on the complexity of website and platform it was built.
Don’t hesitate to contact us for further advice about designing a responsive website that can attract and retain customers, leading them to your small business. A responsive website will remain navigable and attractive across devices, helping you boost sales by reaching more customers.
Digital & Social Articles on Business 2 Community
(74)
