Increase of mobile and tablet usagae aside, there are other reasons to consider a responsive upgrade...It's Google's RecommendationIn 2012, Google strongly recommended the use of Responsive Web Design, "RWD" and considers it the best way to optimize for mobile. In addition to that, RWD websites have the same HTML code and only one URL across all devices, which allows Google easily crawl and index your website. Consistent URL structure is very important on the Web today, since your website gets shared in various ways on a variety of different devices. If a desktop user tries viewing your website via mobile URL, or if a mobile user views your website via desktop URL, it will not display properly and might cause him or her to leave your site out of frustration and confusion.Your company's clients deserve the best that you can offer and the quality of your website should be measured by how functional it is for the user. Since mobile phones are more advanced than ever, users now expect full functionality on their mobile devices, rather than a restricted or less functional version of the desktop site.SEOHaving a single URL will also give you a leg up when it comes to SEO. www.wikipedia.com and m.wikipedia.com are two completely different URLs. If redirects aren't structured properly, search engines might not know that two URLs actually serve the same website for different devices, which can have a negative impact on your search relevance and compromise your analytics reporting. In order to make sure that these two URLs are indexed and weighted as the same site, you have to add extra code, which adds complexity, takes time, and costs money. For optimized SEO, RWD is Google's recommended configuration.Social MediaSocial media has become a crucial part of any business' online marketing strategy, and 55 percent of social media interaction now happens on mobile, according to comScore's "US Mobile Future in Focus." Companies who share their single view desktop site on social media risk leaving their mobile customers both frustrated and annoyed at the lack of usability. This will also increase bounce rate and decrease conversions. Once again, switching to a RWD is a solution to these problemsPreparing for the FutureRWD websites don't solely adapt to the devices and screen sizes that exist right now. Rather, RWD websites are future-proof. This means that as time progresses and new devices and screen sizes are inevitably introduced to the market, RWD websites will automatically adapt and display in the best possible manner. The reason this works is because RWD websites adapt to screen size-not specific devices-so your company's website will be optimized for devices that have not even come out yet. While converting from a traditional mobile website to a RWD website may be costly initially, it is a one-time worthwhile long-term investment that will ultimately prepare your company's website for the future.Read the full artcile >>>
