Having a responsive website is mandatory these days, considering how the mobile device industry has grown in the past decade. In 2015, Google announced that they would favor websites that are mobile-friendly over those that are not, giving them higher ranks in searches. 

Furthermore, users, these days tend to browse websites from their mobile devices because it is so accessible no matter where they are, and they don't need to be home, using their stationary PCs or open their laptops.

With the above in mind, you should build your website around it being responsive, or if it currently lacks in that department, you should act immediately.

What are the advantages of having a responsive website?

Here are a few benefits of having a mobile-friendly website:

• It will increase your user experience, as it will allow you to browse your site not only from their stationary PC or laptop but from their mobile phone or tablet, no matter where they are right now.
• It will improve your search engine rankings, making your online brand much more recognizable.
• In the past, people used to have two versions of their site - a mobile version and a desktop version. Developing the site around it being responsive, will cut down the needs in regards to maintenance and finance needed to manage two websites.

How can I have a responsive website?

It depends on the type of app you are using. Most website owners lean towards open-source applications such as WordPress, Magento, PrestaShop, or Drupal. As these applications receive regular updates and have a huge community developing plugins themes and modules, ever since the announcement from Google, they are fully responsive. Nevertheless, you should ALWAYS make sure that any visual front-end modifications you purchase for these scripts are mobile-friendly. Vendors usually mention this in their documentation, so you should always go over it before making a choice.

If you do not want to use an open-source app for your online endeavor, and you want it built from scratch, employ a certified web developer would be the best decision. You should explicitly let them know that you wish the website to be mobile-friendly.