It has long been said that business websites must be able to convert to a mobile friendly website. According to Statista, 3.7 billion unique users accessed the internet in a single month using mobile devices. The numbers of users in the world that are accessing the web via their devices continue to rise.

Having a mobile-friendly website is no longer enough, it must also be mobile-responsive.

User experience is at the forefront of website technology. Continue reading to understand the difference between the two and why it’s important.

What is Mobile-Friendly?

Designing your business website can be a huge undertaking. Your web designer must ensure that the site encompasses everything that reflects your brand, while also being user-friendly.

As technology has improved and smart devices have grown in popularity, the need for mobile versions of websites has become a necessity. Without it, your business could be missing out on vital traffic.

Oftentimes visitors did not have the same ease of use. Images were distorted, the pages didn’t align, and navigation could be a nightmare.

Developers had to improve the user experience and for the most part, they did. Images, videos, links, and pages became easily readable and mirrored the look of desktop versions of the site. Still, users were abandoning mobile sites because navigating was too cumbersome.

What is Mobile-Responsive?

With a mobile-responsive website, you are following the same principles as the mobile-friendly site. The difference is that the responsive site automatically adjusts to the screen on the mobile device.

There are four basic mobile device screen sizes. It does not matter which device you are own, the content changes to give the user the best visual experience.

If the site visitor switches to the wide-screen mode the site will adjust to the change also.

The mobile-responsive design optimizes images and auto-corrects spacing in the layout. You can tell the difference by comparing the look and feel of the pages on various devices with different size screens. If the data adjusts to the size of the screen it is responsive.

Why You Should Request a Responsive Format?

• Smartphone and tablet usage is on the rise and people are conducting business regularly on these devices. Your business has to keep up with changes in technology in order to remain relevant

• Responsive devices will give you a greater return on your SEO marketing strategy because Google prefers mobile responsive designs.

• Your business no longer needs to versions of your website to meet user’s needs.

• A user is more likely to complete a transaction on an e-commerce site if it has a mobile-responsive design. There is less trust in a site that is hard to navigate.

Ready to Go Mobile?

Now that you know the difference between mobile-friendly and mobile-responsive, which represents your existing site? If your clients are not having a positive experience, it could be negatively impacting your business.

We can help you get up-to-speed. Contact us to discuss how we can help you with your overall web design and service.