Some of them took into consideration some regular mobile usability guidelines. Responsive website creators were better alternative to others. Some dig deeper into the development of mobile apps and mobile versions of their sites. Still, this is no longer enough in order to boost your site’s visibility in Google. Keep reading further to find the reason why responsive web design goes dead.
Is responsive web design enough?
Being responsive means that the layout if your site can adjust to all the major screen sizes, thus revealing the data in a comprehensive way. However, the world is changing all the time, as well as the demands of the web. With the growing popularity of smartphones and other handheld devices, web developers need to re-think the way they build sites.
The biggest problem of responsive designs stands behind their main strength, i.e. delivering the same pieces of content regardless of the device used to access a website. However, we should not forget about the usability of our web projects. With the purpose to provide the web audience with the flawless browsing experience, many businesses simply split the content into two major groups – data for desktop computers and smartphones. There is a general belief that both of these two big groups have different browsing intentions. For example, banks and other financial institutions can limit the number of operations that a user can perform on-the-go, leaving only the most essential ones. This may be the possibility to check the current balance, transfer cash or see the currency exchange rates.
Delivering equal pieces of content to the desktop and mobile users, the weight of responsive websites remains the same. Unfortunately, there no lightweight versions of responsive designs presented as of yet. If a person reaches your website from a smartphone (which is generally considered to be slower than a desktop device), then it will take more time to load all data of your website. Taking into account that the modern-day users won’t wait for longer than 3 seconds for your site’s data to load, you face the risk of losing traffic. Additionally, Google doesn’t give good ranking to the slow loading sites.
AMP
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. The main idea that stands behind the AMP technology is providing faster loading speeds for web pages on mobile devices. Taking into account that desktop websites contain content that is irrelevant to the devices with smaller screens, AMP web pages cut off all unnecessary elements, thus keeping the users’ attention focused on the essentials.
PWA
PWA stands for Progressive Web Apps. In order words, these are web-based applications that deliver the browsing experience that is similar to using mobile apps. Looking similar to the mobile software, PWA have a number of similarities with regular websites.
One of the key features and greatest advantages of PWA is that no download or installation are needed (you simply enter the habitual URL address of the site that you want to reach). PWAs are fully responsive. These can be shared with other users by means of shareable links that can refer to any page needed.
On the other hand, PWAs have certain similarities with mobile apps. For example, they feature almost identical UI/UX. These do not require the constant network connection. If needed, users can create quick shortcuts on their devices, as well as receive push notifications.
Which one is best?
With all that being said, that’s expected to be a better alternative to responsive web designs? While both of these two technologies have certain particularities, the two go hand-in-hand when it comes to providing the users with the seamless browsing experience. Whether you opt for an AMP site or give your preference to PWA, you may feel certain that the content will load quicker than on responsive sites. As a result, this will improve your site’s ranking in search engines.
AMP sites provide the users with a quick access to the content, which means it mainly guarantees the quicker page loading whatever device a person uses. PWA is more about keeping the users better engaged with your content. Judging by the usability of a website, PWA seems to be a better alternative to responsive web pages. However, AMP shouldn’t be neglected either. 92% of the web users will give up on a site if they find it difficult to navigate. 3-seconds page loading wait will result in the users leaving for faster-loading competitor web pages.
Online security is highly essential for both web users and websites. PWA takes the support of the secure HTTPS connection between a user and your site. It builds more trust and notifies if the connection is lost or the page is closed. That’s one more feature that differs AMP from PWA. A number of the modern-day technologies are supported by https only. According to researchers, people spend 74% more time on PWAs, which can result in the 82% conversion rates growth.
Final Words
Running responsive websites isn’t enough any longer. The time of the big changes has come! So, get ready to shift for the latest speed and usability-optimized technologies that will bring higher rankings to your site.
This is a guest post by Tim Ross.