How we build our responsive websites

We create websites with research, and then continue to improve them.

Building high-performing, great-looking, responsive websites is a key cornerstone of what we do for our clients. In this post, we’ll review what makes our websites different, and why they need to be responsive. We’ll also review our templates and our process of continually making improvements to sites.

Responsive design for a mobile audience

You’ve probably heard that mobile web use is on the rise. It’s something that we’ve mentioned before ourselves. However, even that may be an understatement at this point. According to MarketingLand.com, mobile traffic at the end of 2015 had flown past 50% of the market and has continued to climb. It’s essential to have website that is as easy to view on a desktop as it is on mobile.

That’s why 5 Fold designs responsive websites that automatically reconfigure to the needed screen size, depending on the device being used. All of our templates are responsive by default. If you have a website that doesn’t automatically resize on mobile, you’re getting left behind by a majority or near-majority of users. Part of the reason these numbers are climbing is because younger users are increasingly using mobile over desktop. As their buying power increases, the importance of your site being accessible on phones will also rise.

Built on years of research

We built our templates using everything we’ve learned over the past few years about what works in web design and search engine optimization. First and foremost, our sites are designed to be faster and leaner than others. To accomplish this, we’ve optimized the templates to contain exactly what our clients need to be successful—and nothing else. This streamlined approach keeps page load speeds down below three seconds in most cases.

This way of building sites is in sharp contrast to the customized, “everything and the kitchen sink” way of web design that a lot of companies tout. In some cases, customized sites can be very powerful and high-performing. However, in most cases, we’ve found that they do a ton of extra stuff that really isn’t necessary to deliver a great user experience for clients and produce positive results, such as web referrals or call generation. Our sites do that without the frills, although we certainly think ours look fantastic, as well.

We’re always making improvements

As we discussed in last week’s blog post, the 5 Fold team is constantly working with our client’s campaigns. We measure, strategize, and then make small changes that improve future performance. We do this because the world of internet marketing is always changing, and we want to keep refining our product to match the demands of searchers and search engines alike. The websites we design are evaluated by both Google and local users in a myriad of ways as both search for information.

One of the primary things that 5 Fold does that most marketing companies don’t (or won’t) is that we constantly add new content to the website, through our trademark Boost process. Every single month, John and our Content Writer, Kevin, come together to lay out a new webpage that expands on one of the client’s products or services. This new page is built to the standards of the existing site, but has more targeted content. For example, for a client that provides HVAC services, your site will now have not only an air conditioning page, but also a page specifically for AC tune-ups. That kind of specific content can help search engines and users find what they’re looking for.

Boost isn’t just about adding a new page. It’s a chance to take a step back and inspect the site as a whole, analyzing what’s working and what isn’t. Again, this is a proactive, not reactive, approach that makes for better overall campaign results for our clients.

Get to know our websites

The best way to see what we’re talking about is to check out our case studies and visit a few of the websites we’ve built for our clients. Interested in what we can do for your business? Give us a call.