Traditional websites were designed for the much larger screens of desktops and laptops. To ensure optimal presentation on the smaller screens of mobile devices such as tablets and especially smartphones, from Apple® iPad® and iPhone® to Android™ tablets and smartphones and more, websites need a design specially suited for these purposes. In the past that meant creating a separate website for smartphones that was rearranged for touch screens and the much smaller visual estate. Now there is a better way.
Responsive Website Design and Development
Responsive website design is coded to rearrange the layout and size of all elements within the visual layout as well as to adjust spacing for maximum aesthetic effect and legibility within the given dimensions. Responsive websites also recognize the smallest screen sizes and present alternative menu systems especially designed for these devices that open and close with a touch, allowing users to navigate through the website as needed without having fixed menus take up the limited space available.
Responsive website design offers tremendous advantages over the alternatives. First, responsive website design allows you to develop one website that will work great on personal computers and tablets as well as smartphones. This reduces both initial design and development costs as well as maintenance costs associated with keeping content up to date. Second, responsive websites' flexibility ensures that design compromises between various screen sizes, resolutions, and dimensions need not be made. Whether the site is viewed on a smartphone, tablet, or on a 4:3, 16:9, or even wider monitor of a laptop or desktop, the presentation will remain strong.
Responsive Websites for Mobile Search Engine Optimization
Technology is continually evolving. To ensure that your organization continues to connect to its market, you need to meet them where they are. Today, that means mobile. Search engine optimized websites designed especially for mobile devices are increasingly becoming the single most important thing you can do to connect to your audience. Google announced that mobile search volume surpassed non-mobile searches in May 2015, and the trend has only continued upwards since.
Google now uses a separate directory for search engine queries from mobile devices, and those websites which do not have a responsive website or other mobile-optimized option have already begun to lose rank. Bing likewise has created a new index for those searching on mobile. Yahoo also has its own mobile search algorithm. The penalties that non-mobile-optimized websites will incur during searches from mobile devices will only increase over time.
Furthermore, those that search on their mobile devices from Google and Bing! will see a special mobile-friendly label on all those results which are from websites specifically designed for mobile devices. Mobile search optimization is especially important for any organizations such as clinics that may be competing for clientele in the local area, as mobile searches are more likely to indicate a specific intent to find local services. It is crucial that medical organizations of all kinds ensure that they capitalize on the inherent SEO value of their websites by offering mobile-friendly designs that rank well on searches from mobile browsers and are appealing in the search engine result listings.
A responsive website design is the best way to ensure that your website is search engine optimized for the current mobile-saturated environment. Now is the time to make the move to mobile. Contact DDA Medical today and make it happen.