Converting to responsive - worth the effort?

[Engineer]

Has anyone here converted a non-responsive site to a responsive design?

If so, did you notice any difference in rankings, traffic volume, time on site, conversion rates, revenue, etc?

 

[AussieDave]

I converted all my sites to responsive, WP lay-out, a coupe of years ago.
If I had the choice again, I'd keep one site for PC/Mac and use a sub-domain of that, exclusively for mobile HTML5.

I've found regardless of how mobile "optimised" a WP site claims to be, pages are going to look a lot better on a PC/Mac and depending on the content, there going to takes ages to load on a mobile.

Which brings in another issue. HTML5 uses multiple H1 tags, which can affect your rankings for non mobile content.

As far a traffic, nothing really changed.
I've had an increase in signups to mobile casinos but nothing that has rocked the boat.

 

[Guard Dog]

I only had a minor site.... but mine got slammed and no longer ranks pretty sweet, huh? However - I am to blame for not keeping up with content. It lost all rankings pretty quickly, but never regained because I was so disillusioned I gave up.

 

[slotplayer]

I started to re do one of my sites to a responsive layout but got side tracked.

 

[Frank]

There are some die hards that will stick with Desktop, especially some of the bigger sites... Mobile is imperative now, 80% of my traffic is mobile, it loads as quick if not faster than desktop, just build your content so it scrolls, the tough part is conversions many affiliate programs are slow to optimize their site and banners, but like it or not mobile is the way forward.

 

[AussieDave]

like it or not mobile is the way forward.

Seems odd TBH. Here's my mindset... Disposable income. Those who have it are generally 45+ in age.
Now I'm 53, wear glasses for reading and work. Last time I tried mobile casino games, on a modern phone, I still had a bugger of a time seeing things.

I suppose a tablet would be easier but why would I bother using a tablet to play casino games, when I have a kick ass PC and laptop? Meaning, why would I even bother playing casino games, when I'm not at home... I go out to escape and enjoy myself, not to be tied to a phone or tablet and using the internet or gambling

 

[Frank]

I play Casino quite a lot on my mobile device, which nowadays is pretty much a phablet with high res etc, Slots are pretty big on Mobile devices, anything else can be tricky though, However sports betting is where I see this flourish, live in game betting half time etc.. no need to run back home whilst in a bar, I can bet as I go now.. Desktop downloadble pc games are going to end up like CD's and VHS, it's a moving future.. you can adapt or deny only time will tell, I have my site setup for both when it comes to mobile ranking, I out rank most sites that have been around for 10 years with millions of backlinks.. Desktop is dwindling.. by the year

 

[TheGooner]

The value is still in the desktop / laptop market - because THAT where the signup occurs.

Players may access online gaming via phone, but very few have the patience to register and fill out forms to signup via that interface.

 

[LandofOz]

The other thing you need to consider before converting your site to responsive is how will this affect my site in the serps? A few weeks ago I converted many of my sites from HTML to mobile friendly wordpress sites. Guess what happened next? They all took big hits in the serps. I'm sure that they will eventually recover, but in hindsight, it might have been wiser to have left them as they were.

 

[AussieDave]

A few weeks ago I converted many of my sites from HTML to mobile friendly wordpress sites. Guess what happened next? They all took big hits in the serps.

I learned that lesson the hard way too. Hope you regain your serps.

One of my big sites, I coverted to responsive WP, a bit over 2 years ago. It had literally 1000's of long tails searches each month.
As of today it has lost close to 90% in unique visits and has tanked. Sadly that site has never bounced back

very few have the patience to register and fill out forms to signup via that interface.

Agreed.
Even doing a simple task like adding funds, is a total PITA on a mobile phone.
However I can see the value of mobile sportsbooks apps, that makes a lot of good business sense.

 

[slotplayer]

"In a rather awesome move, mobile browser vendors picked up on the new HTML5 input types and are using them to display customized keyboard layouts that make it easier for users to enter data."

http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/using-html5-input-types-to-enhance-the-mobile-browsing-experience

http://html5doctor.com/html5-forms-input-types/

 

[TheGooner]

Interesting - I'll have to look out for the new interface if/when they are implemented.
If anyone sees it happening - please let me know here.

 

[slotplayer]

I'm not sure why a mobile user can't simple call the casino, register and even put a cc on file for quick funding.

 

[Frank]

If the website is coded for it, then its usually pretty quick to sign up look at all the apps for dating sites that only exist for mobile, they seem to do ok.. I personally have forms enabled which is usually default on most mobile browsers, but its all dependent on the affiliate program, anyhow soon voice tech will have improved enough that it may make things so much more simpler

 

[edgarf76]

I converted all my sites to responsive themes and it was worth it. Conversion rate is much higher.

 

[Casino-Matt]

If you have a well established website then I'd probably steer clear of converting it. You might be better off leaving it as is and setting up a new website alongside it which you make responsive from the get-go. Best of both worlds right?

 

[slotplayer]

If you have a well established website then I'd probably steer clear of converting it. You might be better off leaving it as is and setting up a new website alongside it which you make responsive from the get-go. Best of both worlds right?

yes, you can use detection and redirect the mobile user but God really recommends responsive.

 

[Vladi]

Most responsive sites are blocky and ugly, and the effort to cater to every possible screen size means that none of them are particularly well optimised. I would far prefer a site to have a desktop theme that works fine on tablets too, and a separate one for small screen devices like mobile phones.

 

[Online18Casino]

If my site is ranking fairly well... "Don't fix it if it ain't broken" applies. I have changed layouts or themes a few times, and had undesired results (drop in serps). So, I spent my time creating a separate mobile site that is more mobile targeted and also ranks fairly well.. You could also maybe redirect mobile traffic to a mobile friendly subdomain on your site?

 

[Casino-Matt]

I recently changed website wordpress theme as the original was far too basic.
As the site is new it wasn't much of a gamble to make but having followed this thread I have been checking the serp results dilligently day by day.

Bing and Yahoo don't really seem to have been affected with some results going down and others going up.

Our good friends Google however do seem to have completely reset the website results with us basically starting again from scratch and slowly trickling back upwards.

Probably set us back 2 months at a rough guess.