Responsive design is an innovative solution for slow-loading mobile sites. Back when it was first introduced, users and developers enthusiastically embraced the ability to access websites on small, mobile screens. However, other solutions have since been developed and mobile sites, in general, have improved.
Though responsive design has become something of a standard practice, it’s seen as only one step toward a fully mobile user experience. Some developers have even abandoned it entirely. While you should have a responsive site, relying solely on responsive design to generate higher rankings and traffic is a tactic that no longer applies to the problem.
Here are a few other options to consider:
Mobile First Development
Mobile users engage businesses and products from a different perspective than desktop users. Mobile customers seek rapid answers to real-time questions. While on the go, a mobile customer might want to know where to find a pharmacy that’s closest to them. The customer will seek out specific geolocation information. The pharmacy will lose the potential customer if their mobile site isn’t easy to find, navigate, or if it takes too long to load.
Using a mobile-first development strategy, analysts retrieve information that reveals the types of devices potential and former customers use to access the business’ site. Further analysis reveals the portions of the site customers frequent and the content they are most likely to access. Using these insights, developers build a site that takes every aspect of the mobile user into account.
The result is a mobile-ready site with easily navigable features and fast speeds.
This approach is superior to responsive design because it’s customized to a business’ specific user base. Users won’t have to pan, scroll, or resize images while on the move. The site itself is optimized to include geographic information and other features that move the site to the top of mobile search rankings.
Mobile Only Experiences
Research indicates that users expect their mobile sites to load within four seconds, yet responsive websites often fail to meet these expectations. One reason is the weight of HTML, which works well in a desktop environment but fails the speed test for mobile sites.
Major companies like Amazon, eBay, and YouTube have taken a different approach. Using mobile-only experiences, either apps or mobile-specific sites, these organizations maintain the speed necessary to maintain an optimized user experience. For organizations that rely on multimedia, this solution is proving to be effective.
Accelerated Mobile Pages
For business’ that lack the financial resources to create multiple sites for mobile and desktop, accelerated mobile pages (AMP) is a Google-backed solution. AMP is a lighter HTML that can be used for both desktop and mobile, optimizing the speed of both. Since AMP is Google-designed, sites built with AMP design are prioritized by the Google engine.
In addition, AMP sites are well-suited for text-heavy sites and those that do not rely on massive amounts of imagery, streaming video, or graphics.
It’s important to note that many of these solutions are used in combination with one another. A developer can adopt a mobile-first strategy while developing with heavy HTML or AMP. A developer with a variety of flexible skills will help your business create a digital presence tailored specifically for your customer base and your business goals.