The way people select and consume content has been changing at a rapid rate ever since the commercialisation of the modern computer. From radios to televisions to computer screens of all shapes and sizes, companies have had to adapt their practices to present themselves to as many of their desired customers as possible. With the rise of the internet, more and more businesses are now doing their best to establish themselves online - but what some tend to overlook is the importance of the smartphone.

Nearly half of the global population are now using smartphones in various aspects of their lives, and over half of that group are using these devices as their primary source of searching for and purchasing goods and services. With so many people using phones this way, having a website for your business is a good start. But having a mobile responsive site is even better.

The responsiveness of a website refers to how the site runs on different devices. A very responsive website is one whose layout will adapt and shift to fit the device being used to view the site - spacing, font and imagery on a responsive site will look different on a smartphone compared to a desktop computer while still maintaining the theme of the site.

Why would businesses want a responsive website? One of the reasons is mentioned above. The market of mobile shoppers is massive, with more and more purchases being made on smartphones now. With a mobile responsive site, more people are likely to enter your site - but more importantly, they're more likely to remain on your site. If you enter a site on your phone and all the proportions are off - the text looks weird and you have to do a lot of horizontal scrolling - you're going to leave and look for a site that will be easier to navigate on your device. Websites succeed by gaining and retaining users - and having a site that can cater to the mobile market is a big plus in that area.

Another plus to having a responsive website is consistency. Due to responsive websites adjusting themselves to fit the screen of the device being used, the visual theme of these websites can remain consistent - and consistency is very appealing to viewers. While we are focussing mostly on mobile in this piece, imagine a customer finds your site on their phone on the way home from work. They get home and decide to give it a more in-depth look on their desktop computer. If your site looks different on desktop, it feels jarring and makes the customer more likely to leave. If your site is responsive however, the site will fit the desktop screen and retain the same style that the customer saw on mobile. Little things like this might not seem like much, but they help a lot in keeping customers engaged in your website.

Making sure your business is keeping up with current trends and technology is critical to success and having a responsive website can help that immensely. In this article we have discussed what responsive web design is and why it's beneficial for sites today. If you're interested in seeing how a responsive site can help your business, get in touch with AB Web Developers today for a quote.