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.