Aug
23
2016
Responsive Web Design for Higher Education

Responsive Web Design for Higher Education

Responsive web design (RWD) is ideal for large, complex and content rich websites. It has quickly become the most preferred approach to website redesign for higher ed institutions. Although some marketing pundits point to RWD challenges, we know they don’t have to be challenges. We’re writing this post to dispel any wrong assumptions about RWD for schools.

What makes responsive web design the most comprehensive choice for higher ed sites?

Responsive Web Design for Higher EducationWould you rather develop one responsive website for higher education that works across all platforms or create multiple adaptive sites for desktops, tablets and mobiles? The former is preferred because it allows for a common user experience across all platforms, which can continue to convert visitors into potential students as they switch from smartphones at school to tablets at home. Although RWD presents the need to carefully address navigation, images and user intent on a range of devices, this approach allows you to address all visitors appropriately.

Does responsive web design allow for a robust, flexible and future-proof higher ed site?

Responsive web design requires thorough site redesign and reimagining of web apps for a range of screen sizes; however, the resulting digital marketing solution puts you miles ahead of most other higher education websites as they continue to struggle with separate multiple sites and out-of-sync marketing automation, which may cause them to lose potential students. It’s quite the undertaking, but increasing conversions across all platforms far outweigh the initial time and energy required. Not only do you gain an easy-to-use website, you gain a flexible web platform that can more quickly and easily adapt to tomorrow’s web apps, future branding needs and various school department requirements. It’s easy to update code, color schemes and content, helping you streamline web maintenance duties as you conserve marketing resources.

Can a responsive web page load just as fast on mobile devices as it does on desktops?

Some RWD pundits warn that pages of a responsive website are slower to load than pages of an m.dot mobile website, but there are clear, simple and effective ways to minimize big graphics and limit calls to the server to responsive web page load times. Responsive site load times meet or surpass mobile website load times. Advanced responsive web developers are mindful that every second of delay in web page loading negatively costs conversions. That’s why the best web developers builds pages that load fast and responsively to meet user’s highest standards.

How can a responsive website outperform all other adaptive websites in search engines?

Optimizing one website for multiple platforms is not only preferred by today’s expert higher ed marketers, but Google also ranks and positions responsive websites at the top of search results. Why? Better page indexing with one site. Inbound links are directed to one site. Plus more potential students are starting to search for higher ed websites from mobile devices. Having a responsive website boosts visibility, which gives you a better opportunity to connect online.

Connect with visitors anywhere, maintain web presence more efficiently and manage data across all channels with one flexible solution. Contact us to redesign for a better website.

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