If you were to conduct an impromptu survey among your target audience, you would be astounded by the number of people who use their mobile phones as their primary computing device.
In fact, studies state that more than one-third of all mobile users conduct all their work on their handheld devices and this includes shopping.
So, if you haven’t embraced responsiveness for your e-commerce site, then you’re missing out on potential sales.
What exactly is Responsive Web Design?
It’s a design that allows your web’s content to change dynamically according to the size of the user’s mobile device. Your online store must be designed in such a way that it provides the best viewing experience across a wide variety of devices. In simple terms, any user who visits your site must be able to do everything they wish to do, irrespective of the device they are using.
And, a responsive site lets you do exactly that.
Why does your E-Commerce store need a Responsive Design ASAP?
Gone are the days when people used to devote time exclusively to shopping online. They used to chunk out a space of time in their weekly schedule, get before a system, add products to their cart and complete the purchase.
Nowadays, people shop whenever the urge hits them. This can be while watching a commercial while lounging on the couch or on the go. Whatever, be the situation, your site must be ready whenever the user needs it.
Let’s take a look at some real-life scenarios:
A dad while leaving the office suddenly remembers that he hasn’t got a birthday present for his kid. He pulls out his mobile, goes to your site to find a suitable present. If your site isn’t responsive, the chances are that the man will get frustrated navigating through your store, instead head into the nearest brick and mortar store to complete the purchase. You lost a potential sale.
Next situation, a couple of women are catching up over a cup of coffee. They suddenly decide to enroll in an aerobics class and decide to buy some gym wear. They go online only to find that the product pictures aren’t clear. Annoyed, they go round the corner to the nearest clothing store and find what they want. You lost another huge sale.
Moral: The urge to shop can occur anytime and having a responsive e-commerce store could make all the difference between winning sales and losing to competitors.
“There are huge untapped audience bases, who expect a responsive site to carry out their online purchases.”
Here are the top noteworthy benefits offered by responsive web design for e-commerce stores.
#1: Hassle-free Maintenance
Some online vendors have the practice of maintaining separate versions of their sites for mobile and desktop. This increases overhead costs. Going responsive cuts down this cost and updating content on your site becomes easy. Also, it is simpler and cheaper to maintain one single site rather than different versions of the same website.
#2: Enhanced User Experience
A regular site optimized for desktop usage appears clumsy on a mobile device. Users find it difficult to navigate, and it leads to a poor browsing session. When your clients, don’t feel the UI comfortable and attractive, they are likely to abandon the purchase and switch to a competitor.
Responsive design keeps the navigation smooth and prevents unnecessary scrolling offering an elevated user experience.
#3: SEO Friendly
Responsive design helps in improving the on-page SEO tactics of your site, thereby boosting your rank. Since you have only one site for all devices; your SEO strategy is focused leading to better results.
#4: Even Google favors Responsive Design
Search engine giant, Google states that it prefers responsive sites over separate mobile sites. This is because, when your site has a different URL for mobile design, it becomes difficult to rank and index your site. On the contrary, a responsive design will have the same URL for both the mobile and desktop versions making it easy for Google to index and rank your e-commerce site.
#5: Cost-Effective
While the responsive design may seem a bit expensive initially, it’s worth the investment in the long run. You don’t have to pay for two separate sites. Also, as an e-commerce site, the content of your store needs to be frequently updated.
When you have two websites, updating content on both, becomes difficult. On the contrary, a responsive design makes adding new content seamless and easy.
#6: Better Interlinking of Pages
With a responsive site, all your contents are within a single site. This makes it easy to link and interact with inner pages, thereby boosting your site’s credibility.
#7: Improve the Speed of your Site
As an e-commerce site, you will have different types of content like high-definition images, thumbnails, and even videos. Loading images isn’t a problem on desktops, but it becomes an issue on Smartphones. Speed is of prime importance for mobile users. Studies state that if a site takes more than five seconds to load, then you will end up losing potential visitors.
In responsive designs, website developers make use of techniques that help in reshaping images based on the size of the screen, thereby improving the speed of your e-commerce store. Lazy loading loads only a particular set of images are loaded in one go, and the rest are loaded as the user scrolls.
#8: Widen your Customer Base
Since the site is designed to suit all devices; it increases the reach of your online store. Additionally, since the website has smooth navigation and customers can view product images clearly even on small mobile phones, they’re likely to end up completing the purchase and will turn into loyal customers.
#9: Increase Your Sales
Full-fledged responsive e-commerce sites are still an exception rather than the norm. So, heading the responsive design route will give you an edge over your competitors. Users will be able to view and purchase products easily, thereby boosting your overall sales. In fact, several brands claim that making the switch has increased their sales by 20%.
#10: Improved Conversion Rates
The improved UX of responsive sites makes the entire process of searching, locating, and buying the product on your site much easier and pleasurable. This increases conversion rates and improves customer loyalty.
Are you planning to build an e-commerce site from scratch or update your existing site? Our skilled team of expert designers and developers has worked on several responsive e-commerce sites and knows the ins and outs of e-commerce marketing. Hop aboard with us and watch your sales grow and build your brand! For e-commerce website designing and development in Gurgaon, you can call us at +91 124-4379-633. We are also available 24×7 at www.webfries.com.