Tackling Myths About Responsive Website Design for Car Dealers

1. August 3, 2017 Tackling Myths About Responsive Website Design for Car Dealers It’s time to take dealerships into the mobile age. Why, you might ask? Believe it or not, 56% of traffic to top websites now come from mobile devices. In other words, your next customers may very well be looking for suitable cars on the Internet. P a g e 1 | 3

2. But to take advantage of this surge in mobile traffic, you need to ensure that your website is suited for browsing on devices like smartphones and tablets. In this regard, responsive design is your ally. What exactly is this design philosophy? Let’s take a look at the myths and misconceptions about it. It’s the Same Thing as a Mobile Website This is perhaps the biggest misconception about responsive design. In a nutshell, a mobile website is a shrunken down version of your site’s desktop version, which makes it compatible to use with smartphones and similar devices. A responsive website, on the other hand, adheres to a design philosophy wherein the content shifts and adapts according to the device being used. As such, it doesn’t matter whether you’re viewing the site on a tablet, smartphone, phablet, or PC—the content adapts automatically. You Need Separate Content for Mobile Users The beauty of a responsive website is that you don’t need to prepare separate content—all your text and images automatically adapt. This is also good for search engine optimization as you get to keep all the keywords and image metadata used in your dealership’s desktop site. That’s why web developers often say that a responsive website means creating once, and publishing everywhere. Your Responsive Website Needs to Look Exactly Like the Desktop Version The logic behind responsive design is user friendliness—ensuring that people will enjoy browsing your website regardless of what device they’re using. That’s why some elements of your website might be adjusted to make it easier to interact with on a smaller screen. For instance, the tabs running atop your desktop site might be collapsed into a menu instead. This way, the screen real estate remains uncluttered, allowing a prospective customer to focus more on the cars you offer. Other navigational commands might also change as they will be adapted to a touchscreen interface. You Don’t Have to Worry About Image Sizes While it’s true that responsive design will automatically resize images to fit smaller screens, you still shouldn’t upload photos that are too big. Remember, if the image you upload is too big, its downscaled version will still be pretty hefty. Properly optimized images also offer benefits to your desktop website because it will facilitate faster page loading, which in turn makes for a better P a g e 2 | 3

3. browsing experience. This is important because Google now considers page speed as one of the crucial ranking factors when displaying search results. Converting your dealership’s website into a responsive one is a worthwhile endeavor because it lessens the amount of time and money you need to invest in maintaining your website. Of course, this conversion doesn’t just happen with a flick of a button or by changing a setting. If you need help during this transition, work with a digital agency that specializes in website design for car dealers. About DealerRank: DealerRank is a leading digital marketing agency that specifically caters to car dealerships. Using our wide range of services, we help dealers establish a robust presence on the internet. We believe that digital marketing levels the playing field, ensuring that big, mid-sized, and smaller dealerships get equal attention from would-be car buyers. Sources: Misconceptions About Responsive Web Design, Softpedia.com Debunking Common Myths About Responsive Design, WSOL.com P a g e 3 | 3