Is responsive web design unsuitable for SEO oriented website programming?

In the last blog entry we have already dealt with responsive web design and questioned whether it is not overrated.

In today's article, let's look at the question of whether responsive web design conflicts with SEO.

As we already know, responsive web design has undeniable web page building benefits, e.g. due to the problem-free usability on stationary and mobile devices, as well as the fact that only one web page has to be created and therefore content-related and maintenance-technical changes are easier and faster to carry out.

Below we will discuss some advantages and disadvantages.

For a site created under Responsive Web Design, the recognition value is usually larger than on a specially created mobile website. Because the user finds in the former mobile content again and again, where he knows it from home. This recognition value is very valuable because users could leave the site annoyed again, because they do not find their usual content right away. If a visitor clicks on a webpage through Google Search and then goes straight back, it may negatively impact your rating.

Mobile search ranking is likely to be the same for both mobile and responsive websites if you're allowed to trust Google. With regard to link building, responsive web pages have an advantage over mobile web pages, as inbound links always point to the classic desktop page and the mobile web page, thus enhancing both versions. Since mobile websites often have a more recent date of origin, fewer links are included on them and are thus left behind in link building.

The so-called "bounce rate" (ie the above-mentioned immediate return to the original Google page) is significantly high for websites that have not been optimized for mobile devices. Often responsive webdesign has an extremely positive effect on visitor numbers.

There are also some disadvantages that should be mentioned at this point.

On the one hand, the development is much more complicated than on the classic website; the time required for design and programming is significantly higher.
On the other hand, it depends heavily on the extent of the website, because possibly the entire very extensive website is loaded onto the smartphone, which can have unpleasant consequences (long loading times, high data consumption). In such a case, it makes sense to create a mobile website. The last disadvantage to be mentioned would be the operability due to the page layout. What was quickly scrolled on the computer with the mouse can develop into a life task on a smartphone. So even for such cases, a separate mobile website would be more appropriate.

Conclusion:
The size of each website should be the main criterion to decide on mobile + desktop page or responsive web design on the other side. If it does not exceed normal size and usability, responsive web design is definitely your first choice.