When WordPress first launched over a decade ago, most content was consumed via desktop computer. Now days, it’s estimated that over 60 percent of traffic is on mobile or tablet.
60 percent! Which means, having a responsive site is more important than ever!
Seriously. 60%! If you’re not building a responsive site – then you’re leaving 60% of your users out in the cold & making it VERY difficult for them to read what you’re writing. Imagine you own a restaurant and you turn away 60% of the people that walk by your shop because you have your sign in Spanish (and they can’t read it).
That’s what you’re doing when you’re not making your site mobile responsive.
Don’t let the term “responsive” scare you. All that means, is that no matter what device your content is viewed on, it will be formatted specifically for each device. Once you have a responsive site, you don’t have to do anything else. There’s no hours of coding or hiring an expensive developer.
The reality is, you want your design to look good regardless of where it’s being viewed from. With a responsive design, your site will adapt to any device making it easy to consume your content. One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your blog is not take in to account the device your readers are viewing from. I can’t state that enough.
Fortunately, thanks to awesome responsive themes like Genesis, there is literally no excuse to have your site not be responsive.
Here are a few examples of what a responsive website looks like vs one that is not.
See how all the content is resized to fit the size of the screen? It makes it so easy to read whatever content you decide to post.
Now let’s take a look at a non-responsive or static site.
Imagine having someone super excited to read your content, only to turn away because it looks terrible on the device of their choice. Don’t make this mistake.
Here are a few other reasons why your blog HAS to be responsive.
First Impressions Matter.
You have anywhere between 3-5 seconds to make a good first impression for someone checking out your site.If your site looks like crap — they are going to leave and they won’t come back, no matter how good your content might be!
You don’t have to go “overboard” with a “perfect design” but you do want to strike a balance of having your site look professional at the same time. We suggest having a site and theme that is simple and to the point, but also shows a little personality.
Social Media Brings People To Your Site
One of the biggest traffic sources for your new site or blog will be from social media. Maybe someone finds your blog through a tweet, or maybe they stumble upon your site after seeing a Facebook post.
The reality is, most people view social media on their mobile device or tablet, so it makes sense that they will also likely see your blog from the same device.
If your site isn’t responsive, when they view your link, they will quickly hit the X and never come back.
Remember, your goal is to make their reading experience the best is can be.
Speed Matters
Another benefit of a responsive design, is that it ensures your content will load as quickly as possible. If your design isn’t responsive, there’s a chance it could take up to 30 seconds to load. No one has time to wait that long.
Right after great content, how quickly your site runs is one of the most important factors when it comes to building a successful blog.
Do everything you can to make sure your amazing content loads as quickly as possible.
SEO
If you want more people to find your site, you have to make sure the search engines such as Google like you.
Google recommends you make your site responsive and even uses mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal! This means that if you’re NOT making your site mobile responsive than google can penalize you and make it harder for people to find you! Avoid all of that headache by getting a responsive theme from the start.
If your site isn’t responsive, it’s going to hurt your SEO. And as you know, SEO is essential it getting people to land on your site. It’s important and Google rewards sites that are easy on the eyes.
If you write for people first, the search engines will notice.
ALWAYS PUT USERS FIRST.
When it comes to building your blog, you should always be thinking about your user first! Remember, they are actual people — not robots.
Make things easier for them. Make things look nice.
Your goal should be to bring as much value as possible them as possible and building a responsive site is a step in the right direction.
Convinced? Great… Here’s how to make your site responsive.
- Install WordPress (cheap + easy hosting w/ BlueHost)
- Get The Genesis Framework (mobile responsive out of the gate)
- Download a Genesis Child Theme (all of these are good)
- Customize the Theme to your liking.
- Boom – Your site is responsive!
