Responsive Web Design Archives

Don’t Risk Falling Down the Google Rankings…

If your site’s not responsive, it’s time for an upgrade.

For quite a while, Google has made clear its preference for responsive web design, but never claimed to rank any particular URL format above another as far as SEO goes. Now, it looks like Google may actually demote websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. So if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, how about going responsive in 2015?

With responsive design, a website’s URL and HTML code stay the same regardless of the type of device (desktop, tablet, or mobile) it’s being viewed on, but the display renders differently—i.e. “responds”—based on the screen size. You can count on perfect readability on any device, along with a well-structured appearance. (Check out our blog “So What’s the Deal with Responsive Sites?” for a more in depth discussion of responsive design.)

Google prefers responsive websites over redirects.

As an aspect of its overarching goal to improve the internet user experience, Google has rolled out several ranking updates that favor responsive sites over non-responsive sites. According to Google, having one URL makes it easier for internet users to interact with a webpage and enables Google’s “algorithms to assign the indexing properties to your content.” It’s also more efficient when Google is crawling your content because Google doesn’t have to crawl multiple pages.

In the past, we offered clients a mobile redirect, which essentially transferred mobile users to a different version of your website that we formatted for mobile use. While having a mobile-friendly option is good, it’s not the same as having a responsive site. A responsive redesign involves putting your website on an entirely different platform, not just changing the HTML code.

Happy New Year! Happy New Website!

Don’t let your website ranking fall in the New Year. Talk to your service advisor about a responsive redesign. When your website works, you work.

Management Success! Fall Convention 2014

in Digital Marketing / Management Success! Fall Convention / Responsive Web Design by marketing services September 24, 2014 167 comments

MS Web Pros Auto Shop Website Demos

MS Web Pros is excited to be part of the Management Success! Fall Convention, being held this weekend (Septemeber 26-28) in Universal City, CA. Our team will be giving one-on-one website demonstrations to shop owners, offering tips for attracting more customers online.

We’ll look at existing shop websites, and give specific advice for improvement, such as placing contact info in an optimal location and using the right imagery and content to target customers in a particular city or with a particular need. We’ll also explain important concepts for staying on top of internet-use trends, including the benefits of having a responsive site that’s easy to use for people browsing the web on phones and tablets.

Masters of Shop Management

Management Success! conventions offer an excellent opportunity for networking with like-minded shop owners, many of whom run some of the top automotive shops in the U.S. and Canada. At every convention, shop owners are recognized for achieving new levels of shop expansion.

This time around, a select group of shop owners will be awarded the Masters of Shop Management, indicating they’ve achieved the highest level of accomplishment in managing and running their shops. These shop owners are able to serve as ambassadors and help other shops improve their knowledge, skills, profitability, and operations.

If you’re going to be at the convention, we can’t wait to see you! If you have any questions about web marketing or your own website, stop by and talk to us.

So What’s the Deal with Responsive Sites?

in Responsive Web Design / Vertical Scrolling / Web Design by marketing services August 18, 2014 115 comments

Your customers are on the go. With a responsive site, so are you.

At MS Web Pros, we continuously strive to optimize our clients’ websites for mobile devices. Here’s why.

People use their phones and tablets to browse the web everywhere they go. That means your website doesn’t just sit on a desk. It needs to look sharp and be functional in every context, regardless of screen size. In other words, it must be “responsive.” Responsive web design is the concept of developing a website in a manner that allows the layout to change according to the user’s computer screen size and resolution.

The best responsive web designs simultaneously attract mobile web users while maintaining a website’s aesthetics. You can count on perfect readability regardless of the device displaying your website, along with a well-structured appearance that beautifully conveys your brand and your message.

In order to understand and appreciate responsive web design, it helps to think about how people use their phones and tablets for web browsing, and also to visualize the most popular sites on the web (such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr). These sites are minimal, and they are easy to use on mobile devices. It’s also important to note that people vertically scroll these sites, moving down the page to see content rather than going to a different page and waiting for it to load.

Wait…Long scrolling pages are a good thing?

In the old days, web designers often tried to cram a lot of content “above the fold” on a website’s home page. (In web design parlance, “above the fold” refers to the portions of a webpage that are visible without scrolling.) This strategy is based on the presumption that people are unlikely to scroll down when they come across a web page; rather, they only read what’s right in front of them.

But that’s just not the case—at least not anymore. People are used to scrolling through websites. A big part of that is the ascendancy of smartphones and tablets, which people now use to browse the web more often than they use a desktop or laptop. So while the area “above the fold” on your home page is still your website’s most valuable real estate, it’s not really necessary to overload the space with content.

Instead, the current trend—and more effective approach—is to grab the viewer’s attention with engaging text and images. And if people are intrigued by what they read and see, they are likely to scroll down to find out more about your shop and your services.

Sometimes it’s best to go with the flow.

People are creatures of habit. And right now most internet users are in the habit of browsing the web on the go. A responsive design means that your new and existing customers will feel at home on your website even when they’re out of the house.