Responsive web design is hugely important, but something many people don’t understand at all. Basically, responsive web design means that you have a website that looks perfect regardless of the device that is being used to view it. In other words, you can see it on your desktop, mobile phone, tablet and so on, and you can view it in a way that doesn’t require you to strain your eyes. This is a huge step forward from the sites that most of us know where if viewed on a mobile device would require constant pinching and zooming in order to be viewed.
A lot of websites have already been made responsive, but too many of them haven’t yet. In fact, it seems that a true drive towards responsiveness has only existed for the past year or so. As a result, a lot of businesses still significantly lag behind. The benefit of this is that you haven’t lost out too much yet if your site hasn’t been optimized, but make sure that you do get in there now.
Does It Really Matter?
It matters a lot! A responsive site is a lot better. Not just that, everybody is doing it. Once upon a time, a Smartphone was something only the lucky few would have. Now, everybody has one and there are even different types (Android, Windows, iOS and so on). Besides Smartphone, everybody now also has a tablet, with the same operating systems. All of these devices have different screen sizes and you have to make sure that your site can be viewed on all of these.
Mobile or Desktop?
If you already have a website, visit Google Analytics and find out how many people have accessed your site and how over the past 12 months. This can easily be done through the audience function, where you can see an easy to read pie chart of your visitor’s stats. On average, a website will receive around 40% of its traffic through a mobile device (be that phone or tablet). This number is growing very quickly, as more and more people have mobile devices that allow online browsing. If you don’t have a website that has been made responsive, you could soon be losing half of your traffic because they simply do not enjoy using your site.
Indeed, the trend of mobile web usage makes things very clear. If you compare mobile internet traffic over the past year, you will notice that it has doubled. There is some belief that one of two things will soon happen: either tablets and Smartphone’s will once again merge with laptops, meaning that they become one and the same thing again, or laptops and desktops will completely phase out. Either way, you have to make sure that your website sticks around and can be viewed.
The Benefits of Responsive Website Design
The benefits are clear: you are making your website more accessible to everybody. This means you demonstrate a commitment to your customer service, first of all. Your customers will see that you care about their ease of viewing your site, which will increase brand trust. As a consequence, you should also notice that your sales and profits go up.
A Mobile Future
As a website owner, you probably know that going responsive is not the easiest thing in the world to do. It isn’t as if you can flick a switch and your site will work perfectly on any device that views it. However, you have to remember that if you are to have a future online, you have to make sure that you move with the times. The internet waits for no one and technology is developing very quickly. If you can’t develop with it, you may as well give up.
Here are some statistics you may want to consider. 60% of all people in our country that own a mobile phone own a Smartphone and this number is growing. Mobile traffic has increased by 171% since 2011. It is clear: people only access the internet on computers and desktops if they are working. For their own private shopping and interests, they are far more likely to use their mobile devices. And even businesses are starting to make the switch to tablets rather than computers or laptops. And if your site isn’t responsive, what do you think your customers are going to do? Do you believe they will pinch and zoom as long as they need, or do you think they will go to your competitors who do have a responsive mobile friendly website?
