Responsive Websites, Why They Matter


Having a responsive website for your business is a necessity. Since just about everyone is using their mobile phones, it’s no wonder why most websites are responsive on mobile devices. When you get a website created by Smart Web Creative, it will be designed with mobile in mind, straight from the beginning. You may have heard the term for websites such as being made, “responsive”. This refers to the site being able to change its layout based on the screen size of the device that it is currently viewed on. A good way to test if a site is responsive is to change the size of your internet browser’s window by making it smaller. If you see the layout start changing, text wrapping around, multiple columns forming into one, images reordering, and still looking great overall, the site is made responsive.

What if you don’t see the site change its layout while changing the browser’s window size? These types of websites could be either “Mobile-Friendly” or “Mobile Optimized”. But what’s the difference between Responsive, Mobile-Friendly, and Mobile Optimized? They all sort of sound like they could be the same thing, however there are some notable differences.

Responsive Made Websites

These types of websites are considered to be the most favored because of how they respond based on the screen size of the device. For websites that have a lot of content and mobile traffic, this is the best option. Some changes that are very common, but not bad, with responsive made sites include multiple columns being made into one column, some content and images will be hidden to make the viewing experience simplified, and the navigation menu will become condensed.

Mobile-Friendly Made Websites

With “Mobile-Friendly” sites, they will stay the same when viewed on a desktop or mobile device. They are made like this on purpose with having all the content being the same. The drawback to having a website being this type is that it’s just a smaller version of the site, sort of like looking at the desktop version, but all crammed on a mobile device. For sites that have very simplistic designs, this is considered a good option, but it does have some caveats. Links can sometimes be difficult to follow, navigation might be overwhelming, the font size would be considered way too small to read, images would be shown smaller, and aside from the mobile experience, the desktop version of the site may not be as heavily styled as desired.

Mobile Optimized Made Websites

Out of all of these types of options for mobile ready versions of websites, “Mobile Optimized” would have to be the most cumbersome. Imagine two entirely separate made websites, but of the same site. You would have a mobile version AND a desktop version. The major downturn with this type of site structure is that the site would need to be maintained and updated twice for both website versions. An example would be if you wanted to update your company info page, well it would be updated on the desktop version and again on the mobile version, taking up time and openings for inconsistencies.

Which Version Is The Best?

By now you’re probably figuring out that “Responsive” type made websites are the best and you’re right. But it all comes down to the cost. Most web developers and designers will charge more for a responsive site, but it does save money in the long run. This works out better because from the moment that they are built, they are more easy to maintain. You won’t have to pay a developer twice to update your site or should I say “sites” every time. The single responsive site will show great on a desktop computer as well as tablets and phones of all sizes. Even with search engines like Google, having a responsive made site is always the way to go for SEO. If you’re interested in getting your site made to be responsive, contact Smart Web Creative and get the best solution for a website in this mobile age.

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