Responsive design versus a mobile dental website
Why “responsive” is the way to go for new websites
It’s easy to forget that some of the latest web terminology, for example “responsive web design”, will likely go over the heads of many. I realised this earlier this week following discussion with potential clients who understood “responsive” to mean that their website simply shrinks to fit on mobile devices. A logical and easy mistake to make but actually quite dangerous in that it could be used to their disadvantage by an unscrupulous vendor. So please remember to check what is actually meant by a vendor who claims that their websites are “compatible with tablet and mobile” as this usually doesn’t mean *optimised* for tablet and mobile.
Before we dive in to the subject of mobile websites versus responsive design, here are a couple of definitions to clarify:
- A mobile website – this is a stand-alone website that has been built specifically for mobile platforms i.e. a separate set of files/images and different from the website that is built for desk-top display.
- A website with responsive design – this is a single website with one set of files that is cleverly designed to display information in a different format depending on the viewing device. So a different layout is presented for desk-top, tablet and mobile. The key point that it is not just a website that shrinks to fit when viewed on smaller browsers.
Where would you use “responsive” versus a separate mobile site?
There are no hard and fast rules here as each application varies. However, it is clear that the first assessment should be whether a responsive design fits the bill – if its does, then this would be the preferred route for any new website. For new dental websites in particular, there is no reason to select a separate mobile site over a responsive design other than the very rare circumstance where a technical configuration precludes. So why is this?
The advantages of a responsive dental website over a separate mobile site
There are some clear and compelling reasons why a responsive design is the way to go as follows:
- one website, not two – this means one set of files to maintain and lower maintenance costs
- set-up cost – a responsive dental website design typically costs no more than a separate mobile site
- one set of information => consistent information for your users
- a correctly configured responsive site is just as fast as a mobile site
- Google likes responsive design and actively encourages webmasters to explore this route first
- responsive design is more flexible than mobile design in that it can be optimised for intermediate view ports (tablets) as well as mobile ‘phones
My website is only a year old and not responsive – what are my options?
This is a very good question. As technology evolves, particularly at pace as with the Internet, you can find yourself left behind quite quickly. Where you have a website that is relatively new but not responsive, these are your options a) investigate a responsive retrofit – this is not easy but is possible for some websites b) go with a separate mobile site as an interim measure until you upgrade c) bite the bullet and have your site redesigned responsively. Unfortunately there is a cost associated with all of these.
A quick recap on why you need to go mobile
In the last year, traffic to websites from hand-held devices has risen steadily and now averages around 30%. We are seeing some sites with mobile and tablet traffic combined now over 40%. Looking a little closer, the bounce rate for users viewing websites which are not mobile optimised is much higher than for sites which are optimised. Simply put, if your site is not mobile friendly, on average, 30% of your visitors leave quickly to look elsewhere. This figure will continue to rise.
Need some help to take your dental website mobile?
At Dental Media we craft class-leading websites for dentists that are truly mobile friendly. For all new sites we recommend a “responsive” design. If a separate mobile site is your only option at this stage, then we can also help you with that.
Please call us on 01332 672548 and we’ll be happy to assist with no obligation on your part.