We’re getting closer and closer to a new normal in website use. Today’s web surfers are more likely to be on their phone or tablet than on a computer. The wide range of formats, dimensions, and screen qualities that people are using has made it harder to design a website that looks great no matter where it’s opened. But there are options. There are a wide range of mobile website templates that ensure that your users have an easy mobile experience on your site. Mobile web development is important enough that most web development platforms have mobile templates available.

Your options will fall into a couple of categories. Look for these before you commit to a web design platform.

Mobile Friendly Templates

The first solution to the mobile problem was to create a second site just for mobile users. Many sites are like this today because a separate mobile website template allows for flexibility and control. The site itself can be re-designed and you’ll know that each time someone accesses your site from a mobile device, they’ll automatically be redirected to a mobile friendly URL.

The downside of this option is that it means you do have to design two sites. The mobile web development portion is additional work and you’ll have to choose a separate mobile website template from your computer-friendly site.

Responsive Website Design

Responsive website design doesn’t require separate mobile web development because the templates themselves are all duplicated from the normal computer template into a mobile website template. If that sounds confusing, don’t worry. You don’t actually have to understand anything about mobile templates because the web development platform does all the work for you.

The benefits here are obvious. With responsible mobile templates, you’re not actually using a separate mobile website template and site. You build one site using a responsive website template and it automatically turns your site into something mobile friendly when the device is detected. The downside is that you don’t have as much control over the content of the site, which might need to be significantly different when viewed on a mobile device.

Choosing the Right Mobile Website Template

Your business, website, or blog should have a mobile template that matches your regular site. Mobile web development shouldn’t diverge from your normal web development in content too much. The colors should be the same and the major content points should be the same. But you’ll only use a single column and navigation will probably be different. Be sure to preview different options before you select a mobile template.