Responsive web design is the best way to ensure no buyer gets left behind.
Regardless of a user’s device —widescreen corporate monitor, tablet, latest smartphone, or so on—you want to provide the best possible experience to anyone who clicks through to your website.
Responsive design allows you to do just that.
What is Responsive Web Design?
Responsive web design (RWD) is a methodology that adapts web content fluidly to different screen sizes. Instead of creating separate static layouts for each device, a responsive site dynamically rearranges itself based on the detected screen size and resolution.
In good ol’ plain English, for example, a responsive site might adjust its navigation bar, resize images, or reformat text automatically to maintain usability and visual appeal on both small and large screens.
You can think of responsive web design as your favourite tea. A teapot can pour into teacups of all shapes and sizes, delivering exactly the same flavour every time. Adaptive web design, however…
What is Adaptive Web Design?
Unlike RWD, adaptive web design (AWD) involves creating fixed layouts tailored to specific devices. When a visitor accesses a site, the server delivers the layout designed for the closest match to their device type.
Think of this as a shot of espresso. While an espresso machine is configured to produce a short and a long shot very well, it’s not fluid in the way that a teapot is—if you try to fill a range of different cups, you’ll find yourself coming up short or even spilling over the edge.
Wix users take note: while Wix Studio uses responsive web design, the classic Wix Editor relies on adaptive design. To boost your website with a fully responsive experience that turns browsers into buyers, Switch Your Site to Studio with The Brand Brew ®!
4 Benefits of Responsive Web Design
Switching to responsive web design can transform your website’s performance and user experience.
Here’s why it’s the smarter choice:
1. Boosted SEO Performance
SEO is always a priority, and responsive web design doesn’t disappoint.
Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites, meaning that your site’s mobile version is the baseline for how Google will determine its ranking.
RWD ensures that your site provides an optimal mobile experience. This satisfies Google’s mobile-friendly ranking requirement and improves your SEO strategy. Still, it’s also essential to your user experience, considering more than half of global web traffic comes from mobile devices!
By optimizing content for all devices, responsive web design ensures a consistent, user-friendly experience and improves load speed, enhancing SEO while reducing bounce rates.
SEO doesn’t stop there—optimized content is essential for an optimized website. Everything from keywords to copywriting and photography work together to boost your site’s rankings, and The Brand Brew ® is your one-stop-SEO-shop.
2. Optimized User Experience
A site that looks and works flawlessly on all devices keeps visitors engaged and encourages them to take action. On the other hand, slow-loading pages with laggy appearing images are sure to drive potential buyers away.
With Wix Editor’s adaptive design, you are limited to building using two primary breakpoints: a fixed desktop viewport size of 1280 px wide and a fixed mobile viewport of 320 px wide. On the other hand, responsive sites adjust seamlessly to any device so visitors get a consistently enjoyable experience, whether on a phone or a widescreen desktop.
Not only does this boost load time and overall user experience, but it enhances your website’s accessibility, too. Responsive design allows for improved readability and simpler navigation, helping you to meet web accessibility standards (and Wix Studio takes it a step further with a built-in Accessibility Wizard!).
3. Efficient Design and Maintenance
Managing one responsive site is far simpler than developing and maintaining separate desktop and mobile versions, as adaptive design requires. Instead, responsive website design allows you to manage a single site that serves all platforms, reducing both effort and long-term costs.
Why work harder when you can work smarter?
Wix Editor’s adaptive design offers limited layout control for mobile. You can hide elements but can’t replace or add different optimized images to improve load speeds or enhance the mobile-first experience. Scaling text for larger screens is also not possible.
In contrast, Wix Studio’s editor applies changes across all breakpoints automatically. Whether updating text, adding images, or overhauling the design, updates reflect on every viewport. This simplifies management and ensures all users, including those on less common devices, enjoy a seamless experience.
4. Future-Proofing
New devices are launching at record speed, and there’s no slowing down in sight. With that in mind, a website that can seamlessly adapt to all devices and screen sizes is a significant asset.
Adaptive web design creates multiple predefined layouts or breakpoints that adapt to specific screen sizes or device types. However, as tech advances and new devices with new dimensions hit the market, adaptive design will surely fall short. Adaptive website builders (like Wix Editor) are further hindered by their limited breakpoint design offerings.
In comparison, RWD principles are designed to accommodate technological changes without missing a beat, no matter what exciting new tech awaits.
Fill Every Cup with Responsive Web Design
Responsive web design is the foundation of a modern, high-performing website, and Wix Studio delivers RWD in all its glory.
Here at The Brand Brew ®, we build responsive websites that automatically adjust to any screen size, improving user experience, load speed, and SEO rankings.
Enjoy a fully responsive site crafted from scratch with our Website Design solution, or rebuild your existing Wix website with Wix Studio thanks to our Switch to Studio service.
Book a call today and start sipping the sweet taste of responsive design!
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