How important is a responsive theme?

[kingcool52]

How important do you think is a responsive theme to a website, blog or forum? Do you think that not having a mobile or tablet compatible site can put off some users from visiting your site? Personally I think that having a responsive theme is quite important as many sites are hard to use and view on a smartphone or tablet which might put off possible users/members from joining/using your site.

 

[KimberlyD]

Here is an infograph which might help to answer the question better then I can explain it.

 

[The_Arctic_Outcry]

Flash,Bandwidth photographs, embedded high definition videos,lack of mobile comparability makes a website unresponsive right? Based from my own experience as someone who surfs online, the more basic and simple a website is,the more responsive the design of the website is.

@KimberlyD, thank you for sharing that picture because it is really educational for aspiring website owners. Many website owners were so desperate to look get people's attention so they try to be cool by adding so many unwanted features.

 

[Claraviolet]

According to google's new algorithm update, websites which are responsive are ranked higher in search engine pages, these days.
So, it's better to go for responsive theme.

Well, I suppose you already got your answer by now

 

[bluegreen]

Generally I have some sites that I access on my mobile phone when I'm on my way to college and there are some others that I only access at home when I'm at the computer because they are not compatible with my phone or they are semi-compatible and not fully functional. There are a couple of websites that I stoped using because I couldn't access them on my mobile devices, I need to use my spare time when I'm on the bus because I spend around 3 to 4 hours daily on public transports so I feel the necessity to use my time doing the stuff I would do at home...

So, I'm one of the users that really needs that most of the sites have responsive themes!

 

[tongxiaoxin]

Even if anyone tells you their opinion, you may not believe it anyway. The best way is to judge for yourself by looking at where the online world is heading. Take for Google for example, you can tell they are moving towards mobile world than desktop due to their recent changes in their search algorithm. They even indicate if sites displayed on their search list is mobile friendly or not. This clearly shows that mobile world is getting increasingly important.

 

[kaka135]

I just started to use a smart phone last year. Before that, my clients were asking for responsive websites. Well, they did not know the term "responsive", but they want their websites to show nicely on mobile phone, and they always use their phone to check their websites and other sites too. I understood that's the market's need, and hence I have to make the website responsive.

Ever since I started to use my smart phone to browse the websites, I found that it's very important to have a responsive website, even email. Though I still use my computer to go online often, sometimes I do check on some sites with my phone. I really appreciate those website owners to take the effort to make their sites and also the newsletters responsive, otherwise I would not be able to browse their sites or read the newsletters using my phone, and perhaps I will just ignore these sites. Moreover, I think those who take the business seriously should really consider making their sites and newsletters responsive.

I think you would also prefer to browse a site with your phone comfortably, rather than looking at the small fonts or some sections have been cut off. It's the trend now, as more people are using smart phone to surf net.

 

[Alexandoy]

Although one statistics that I saw said computers still dominate the field with 60% which means only 40% are users of mobile. But still, that is already a big number to ignore. So if your website is not properly fit for mobile access then you might be missing a lot of traffic. I have experienced visiting several sites that I couldn't access fully using the phone and I had to check it when I am using a computer. Those are clearly sites that are not responsive. Even if I want to, how can I enjoy those sites with my mobile phone or tablet?

 

[Jason76]

Websites going toward mobile themes is a no-brainer. However, though, sadly, the anticipation of the .mobi domain extension still never came thru. Nonetheless, the prediction of things going mobile was dead-on.

According to google's new algorithm update, websites which are responsive are ranked higher in search engine pages, these days.
So, it's better to go for responsive theme.

Well, I suppose you already got your answer by now

Possibly, most MyBB themes are not mobile ready - and the same might be true for SMF and phpBB. In that case, that's a selling tool for premium stuff. However, though, I think pretty much all free and paid XenForo themes are mobile friendly.

 

[kaka135]

Possibly, most MyBB themes are not mobile ready - and the same might be true for SMF and phpBB. In that case, that's a selling tool for premium stuff. However, though, I think pretty much all free and paid XenForo themes are mobile friendly.

I have come across some forums, and realized that XenForo forums work quite nicely and easily at mobile phone whereas some phpBB forums that I access are not, though it's already mentioned it's mobile version, it's not friendly at all.

I think it's certainly useful if the forum themes are made responsively, as it helps us to participate in forums using our phone much easier. Since nowadays many of us are using phone to access the Internet, it's really good if the websites and forums are responsive even though there are still many users using computers to browse the Internet. That's why I always prefer to access the forum with XenForo theme more often especially when I am using my phone. Non responsive websites or forums might stop users from accessing.

 

[melancholy]

I've always thought a good amount of responsive design helps with device compatibility and lets users use the website more easily. A more responsive design helps the user to browse content easier and encourages them to engage, whereas a non-responsive design can be frustrating to the user, especially on mobile devices, and can make the website harder to access for the user.

 

[Zelmontero]

I totally agree with you. You will be losing many viewer when your site is not compatible to a tablet or phone user. People nowadays are using tablet and mobile phone in surfing in the internet. And, responsive team is really necessary because they are one the that will assist or check to your viewers. It is important to keep your viewers entertained.

 

[Gilgamesh]

I agree in what you have said because not all of the people uses a desktop/pc/laptop in surfing sites, some uses mobile phones and some uses tablet. In that particular aspect we must conclude that a good site must possess an adaptive theme that is working nicely in any device in order to make the visitor of the site interested and even browse the said website.

 

[Freya009]

A responsive and mobile-friendly website is very important in terms of your user experience (UX). The site has to look just as good on a tablet or smartphone as it does on your computer monitor. In the mobile layout, fewer elements appear on the screen at the same time, but they are large enough for users to see clearly and interact with. Users don't have to fool around with zooming and shrinking the text or images on the screen. It is most important that your content is accessible to any hand-held devices. This makes it easier and more convenient for users to read and navigate on your site.

 

[etechsupport]

Advantages of Responsive Web Design

• Attract a wider audience. Your audience will access your website from a variety of different devices in all shapes and sizes. ...
• Easier to monitor analytics. ...
• Easier to maintain. ...
• Boost for SEO. ...
• Consistency in design and brand. ...
• Lower bounce rates. ...
• Improved conversion rates.

 

[Divya165]

A responsive theme or responsive design means that the look and feel of your website will automatically adjust to the device that your visitor uses.

This implies that your website will automatically look another on a desktop connected to for instance a mobile phone or tablet. This is very crucial as more and more content is used on the go, may be distorting the nice design of your desktop-oriented website.