Responsive Web Design

If you look online for data about how popular it is for individuals to use mobile devices when performing searches, you’ll find quite a bit of variation in the statistics. While some data suggests that the number of individuals who carry out searches on mobile devices hovers at just over 40%, other statistics suggest that it could be as high as 80%. No matter which information is most accurate, you can likely tell that if you fail to take time to optimize your law firm website so it features responsive web design, which means it adjusts to different screen sizes, then you’re probably missing out on potential traffic and, thus, paying clients.

The good news is that if your existing website isn’t optimized for multiple devices or you’re looking for a new site design that freshens things up a bit, our web developers here at GAVL can help. We have a clear understanding of all aspects of responsive web design and can ensure your site is optimized to align with 21st century search practices.

What Is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive web design refers to a web design approach that aims to make web pages render well on screens of various sizes for improved usability. Another name for this concept is multi-device design.

A site featuring responsive web design has device-flexible:

  • Cascading style sheets (CSS)
  • Hypertext markup language (HTML)
  • JavaScript elements, including buttons, text, and menus

How Can You Tell if a Website Isn’t Mobile Optimized?

One of the easiest or more obvious ways to get a sense if your law firm website has responsive web design is to simply pull up the internet on your phone, type in your site’s URL, and allow it to load. Here are some factors to take into account during this process:

  • Take note of how long your site takes to load on your mobile device. Does it come up fairly quickly, or does it take forever for all the different elements to load up on the page?
  • How does your law firm website look on the screen once it loads? Can you see all the content listed on the desktop site on the mobile one (albeit needing to scroll up and down to do so)?
  • Does everything seem spaced nicely on the page, or does it seem “jumbled up?” Are the fonts easy to read, or do they seem really small?

If you are one of the few people who doesn’t have ready access to a smartphone or tablet, then an easy way to assess the responsiveness of your website is to visit your website builder’s toggle devices tool if it has one. There’s generally an option to select the desktop version or mobile view option. If you look at the mobile version, you’ll see an image of what different-sized device users would see.

3 Signs Your Law Firm Website Lacks a Responsive Web Design

Sites that aren’t built with responsive web design best practices in mind tend to:

  • Load slowly
  • Show off-centered images
  • Display small or crowded text

when viewed on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. This happens because the website doesn’t adjust to the size of the device being used.

If that happens when you try to view your existing website on varying screen sizes, then it may be ideal to address it. If you decide to hire GAVL, one of the first things we’ll do is ensure your site is responsive and make the necessary changes to make sure it loads well on mobile devices. Sites that aren’t responsive tend to have high bounce rates, meaning individuals become too frustrated trying to see what’s on your site and they leave yours and go elsewhere, meaning your law firm loses prospective paying customers.

In many cases, we may suggest a new, fresh site design. All our custom-built law firm websites are mobile-optimized for optimal reach.

How GAVL Helps Grow Law Firms Through Responsive Web Design

When users are in need of legal assistance from a criminal defense, family law, employment, bankruptcy, or personal injury attorney, they want answers fast. The most readily accessible internet-enabled device nearby may be their phone or tablet, and they may land on the mobile version of your website. Is it aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly, and does it convey professionalism? If it doesn’t, let’s talk.

Our GAVL team offers free site evaluations where we share how certain improvements can boost usability and ranking and thus generate more leads. Let’s connect.