A responsive website is a type of web design that works across a wide range of devices, including PC, tablet, and mobile devices. A responsive website provides the ideal viewing experience, with easy reading and navigation and minimum resizing and scrolling. Below are seven reasons why your auto dealership website should use a responsive design.
Mobile and Tablet Usage Increasing
In the United States today, 61% of the population owns a smart phone, and nearly half of consumers say they will leave a website if it doesn't load properly on their mobile device (Business2Community). If a person is searching for a vehicle on your website from his mobile device, but it isn't in the correct format, the person will exit your website and try a different dealership's website.
Google Recommends Responsive Sites
Google currently has 67% of the search engine market share, and Google is recommending websites use responsive web design. Google, went so far as to say that having a responsive web design is the industry best practice. Responsive design websites allows your dealership website to use the same address and content. This eliminates the need to have a separate site for mobile devices, for example. Responsive websites make indexing of websites easier for Google. Google can now crawl and organize your site's content more efficiently.
Better User Experience
If the user can seamlessly access your site on any of their devices, they will be happy with their experience, thus more likely to come back to your website. When images and icons are automatically adjusted to the devices screen size, this allows sites to load fast. It also makes navigation easy and fast, allowing car buyers to find what they are looking for.
Competitive Advantage
In order to stay ahead of your competitors, you must be aware of your users' needs and wants. More users are turning to their cell phones to do their research because it is a fast and convenient way to get information. Chances are most of your competitors have yet to adopt to a responsive design, missing out on many potential customers. Take the lead and convert your site to a responsive design as soon as feasible.
Cost Effective
If you continue to run a separate website and a separate mobile site, you will have to run two separate SEO campaigns, one for each platform. Having the same site for all devices will save your dealership time and money. Your links on Search Engine Result Pages will be the same for on all devices.
Improve Conversion Rate
Responsive sites offer(s) consistency when users access the site on different devices. Having consistency creates a better user experience. The better the user experience, the more likely the visitor will engage with your dealership, leading to increased numbers of online leads.
Lower Bounce Rate
Going along with conversion rates, bounce rates will be lower because of the new aesthetics of your responsive design. Prospects will stay on your site longer and are more likely to engage as they can easily find what they are looking for.