Can Responsive Web Design Benefit Your Community?

Responsive web design (a.k.a. responsive design) is one of the latest web design strategies in the word of information technology (IT). Inexpensive to implement and offering an elite web browsing experience, responsive design is recommended for the websites of all types of organizations, including HOA websites. If your community’s site features responsive design, it will be easier for web users to access the website using a variety of computer devices.

What is responsive web design?

Responsive web design is the discipline of creating a website whose display automatically resizes to fit the screens of new generation computer devices, such as laptops, smart tablets, and smart phones. A website display that automatically reformats to fit the screens of smaller computer devices makes it easier to navigate the site on the screen of the device. For companies, the easy website navigation leads to more time on sight and sales conversions.

Can responsive web design help HOAs?

HOA communities do not sell goods and services online, so is there a reason to invest in responsive design? In terms of attracting new residents to the community, the answer is yes. A planned community’s website is the first point of contact that many people have with the community. Concerning prospective residents, the goal of most HOA websites is to familiarize them with the community and ultimately motivate them to call or leave contact information.

The easier the website is to navigate, the likelier prospective residents are to take the desired action: call or leave contact information. If a community’s website lacks responsive design, people are likely to leave the site instead of swiping to different parts of the screen. This is why sites that lack responsive design often have a high “bounce rate,” which is the number of people who leave a website after viewing one page versus the total number of people who visit the site.

Responsive web design may not lead directly to the sale of residences in your community, but it can result in the community receiving more contact information from prospective homebuyers. Board members and the HOA management provider can essentially view these prospective buyers as if they were business leads. Their initial interest in the community can be nurtured until they are ready to make a buying decision.

How should responsive web design be implemented?

If your community votes to implement responsive design for its website, contacting the HOA management provider is a good place to start. Depending on the services it offers, your community manager may possess the IT expertise to implement the strategy without third party assistance. If assistance is needed, the HOA management provider can coordinate for an experienced provider of IT services to perform the work.