As a pet professional, you know a strong online presence is an essential marketing tool. And by "strong online presence," we mean one that looks credible, professional, and like a place you'd trust with your dog.

Most pet care professionals went into the pet care business for the love of pets. You don't want to know the nitty-gritty of responsive web designs. No problem! This article will share the high-level view, so you have a clue as a business owner.

Every successful pet care business needs a steady stream of the right types of customers. That's where your online presence comes in.

Every dog groomer, dog walker, trainer, or doggie boarding facility needs:

• Up-to-date social media accounts
• Accurate Google My Business listing
• Recent (and positive) testimonials
• A responsive web design 

As you may guess, responsive web design (RWD) is more than having a website. Instead, it's all about having a modern website. You know, one that works on all devices whether your potential clients click on your link via their phone, tablet, or computer.

Let's get into it.

If the term "Responsive Web Design" sounds daunting, don't worry!

Corey Braccialini of Hubspot sums up the seemingly complicated technology term in easy-to-understand language. His definition, "Simply put, Responsive Web Design is the method of designing web pages that appear in their optimized form across all devices."

Essentially, this means that images and text look "good" no matter what device they are viewed on.

For example, imagine you run a dog grooming business in Austin, Tx. Your potential customer looks up "best dog groomer Austin" on their iPhone. Your online presence is excellent, and your website shows up at the top of search. They click on your listing, browse your site, and make an appointment, all from their phone.

Research shows 97% of people use the internet to find local businesses. More than that, 30% of Google mobile searches are location-based.

This means you want a mobile-friendly website, aka responsive web design.

Digital strategist Slavik Volinsky of Moz also tells us that with RWD, a website can "fit virtually any device with a full browser," including mobile phones, iPads, TVs…you name it.

Fortunately, when you use a good website software tool, you'll automatically enjoy responsive web design.

Your pet business website will have:

• Universal landing page
• Proper page orientation (portrait and landscape) that adapt to any screen
• Fonts that are readable in size
• Scrollable text
• High image quality
• Buttons and links that are big enough to click

And it's all configured automatically based on the user's device. When a site doesn't have it, users can be frustrated and close the site without doing business.

You've probably experienced this yourself. Websites, where you have to pinch, scroll and zoom in are not responsive.

Now you know what responsive web design is, and you can probably recognize when a site has it or not. After all, if you look at your website on three different devices, does it "automagically" resize to fit the frame? If so, that's your responsive web design in action.

Here are two key reasons why RWD matters for those in the pet industry.

1. User-friendly = more traffic = higher sales

RWD is all about creating a positive user experience at its core.

In a nutshell, consumers are more likely to buy services when they are happy. A poor online experience that leaves people feeling frustrated and confused – negatively impacts their perception of a business. Therefore, they spend a reduced amount of time browsing, and the likelihood of purchasing from you goes down.

Nobody wants to waste time on a poorly designed page.

The user experience (UX) of a website is so vital that Google even uses it as an SEO ranking factor!

2. Cost-effective

In addition, investing in Responsive Web Design can actually save pet professionals money. Without it, you may need to hire somebody to create a mobile-friendly page, then hire a second person to design/maintain your website, and maybe even a third to develop an app. Costs can quickly add up!

However, RWD tackles all three for the price of one.

Ultimately, it makes sense to optimize your business most cost-effectively by implementing Responsive Web Design right from the get-go.

Phew!

That was a lot of information to absorb.

Hopefully, you are beginning to recognize the potential of using RWD. To see it in action, check out the websites below. Open each page on both your smartphone and desktop. Notice the seamless layout? Do you know how the site is easy-to-use no matter what device you use? That's what we're after.

Here are three examples:

• New York Times
• Wired
• Amazon

You can see some responsive web design examples for pet businesses here.

As a pet professional, you know maintaining a robust online presence is essential. It's what keeps you competitive so your current and future customers can easily find you. Your mobile-friendly or responsive web design is a big part of it.

Fortunately, you can enjoy a professional, up-to-date web presence with our all-in-one software. You'll have a responsive web design, reputation management, and much more all in one tool.

Book your 15-minute demo of Easy Busy Pets and discover how much time and money it can save you.