There are many benefits of responsive web design. A responsive or dynamic website is essential for an online website. 72.6 percent of users worldwide use only mobile devices to surf the internet. Google provides a competitive advantage to websites with a responsive design on the SERP. In 2019, Google launched the mobile-first indexing, under which Google will no longer index the desktop version of the website first. Instead, preference will be given to the mobile version.
As ranking high on the SERP is essential for any business, they should incorporate responsive or dynamic design to their website that serves visitors of various screen sizes. More users being able to access the website will eventually lead to more traffic and ultimately conversion. Here is a list of reasons why responsive design matters.

Benefits of Responsive Web Design

Before we understand the benefits, let us observe what is a responsive and dynamic website. Both types of websites cater to the different devices of the user with all features and functionality of the website intact. The only difference is – a responsive website has a single version of the website and the CSS adjusts to the screen size of the user, whereas, a dynamic website has an entirely different version of the website for mobile devices.

With that cleared up, let us observe the benefits of responsive web design or dynamic websites.

1. Increase in Mobile Traffic
This is the most obvious benefit. As you start catering to mobile devices, you would experience an influx of traffic from mobile devices with a low bounce rate. Users would engage with the website more and it will lead to better conversions. According to a report of SimilarWeb from 2015, more than half of the traffic to top websites comes from mobile devices and we can confirm that statistics on our website.

2. Increase in Sales and Conversion
The most important benefit of responsive web design that a business cares about – an increase in sales and conversion. As the user has a better experience on the website and the standardized CSS offers a consistent feel, it has a positive impact on the sales and conversion.

3. Increase in Search Visibility
It has been some time since Google has been emphasizing on the mobile version of the website. Google cares about the users the most and to provide them a better experience they have been rewarding websites that offer a mobile version of the website. Mobile-first indexing and including mobile-friendly website as a ranking factor are all efforts in that direction. Competition to rank on the SERP is stiff and you need to take any advantage you get. Having a mobile-friendly website allows you to have an edge over the competition. So, to be in the good books of Google, the business must have a responsive website.

4. Fast Web Pages
Why should you care about fast web pages? The single most deterring factor to a website’s conversion is a slow webpage. If a website takes too long to load, the user would abandon the website even before the content loads. Ideally, the pages on your website should load in less than 3 seconds. A site that is not optimized for mobile devices will take longer to load and hence, lose the potential lead and conversion.

5. Low Bounce Rate
The bounce rate is a measurement in Google Analytics that determines the interaction of a visitor on the website. If a user leaves a website without performing any action on the page the bounce rate would be 100 percent. A 0 percent bounce rate is the best, but unrealistic. A responsive website offers a better user experience which can reduce the number of users bouncing from the website. If the users interact with the website more, it will lead to better sales and conversion.

6. Improved SEO
We have already discussed the importance of responsive web design for SEO. In April 2015, Google announced it would use mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. Meaning, websites with a mobile version would have a ranking advantage over the competition that does not serve a mobile version of the website.

Conclusion
We have discussed the benefits of responsive web design for a business. As you can see, having a mobile-friendly website is directly correlated to an increase in conversion. Besides, to gain a competitive edge in your industry, you must have a responsive or dynamic website that provides a mobile version of the website to mobile visitors.