BBC News turned off its PC website today in favour of sending users to the new responsive design website.

The new website is designed to change the layout depending on the device used - whether it is a PC, tablet or mobile.

This move to a fully responsive website is due to 65% of visitors to the site using mobile or tablet devices.

"The old site that we had, which is now four-plus years old, was really designed with PCs in mind. Moving to a fully responsive solution which works across mobile, tablets and desktops is the way to go. It means that we can have one solution that is a web solution for all of our users," said Robin Pembrooke, the BBC's head of product for the News and Weather sites.

Responsive design is an important step for all websites to take as it offers all users the best possible experience no matter what device they are viewing from. Using a responsive design provides a cleaner and clearer layout across all devices.

The responsive website is not a completely new site with a new design but rather an evolution of the existing version. 

Going responsive will enable BBC News to update the design of the site to later accommodate new features to the site. Check out the BBC responsive website here: http://www.bbc.com/news

BBC News has capitalised on the current shift users are taking to using their mobile and tablet devices instead of desktops. This is an opportunity all website owners need to consider as Google also recently announced they will be ranking websites with mobile friendly formats higher in organic search results.

If you do not have a responsive design website you need to start considering it as you are missing out on giving the best possible experience to all of your website visitors. As major companies like BBC News make the shift it is only a matter of time until everyone has a responsive design and the consumer will expect nothing less.