Why responsive design is important to your business

What is a responsive design and why is it important to your business? Well the world is rapidly changing. Twenty years ago we were struggling to understand PC’s, both in the home and in our work place – but now we have smart phones and iPads as well.

So what does this mean for your business? Well it means that more and more people are accessing the internet using mobile devices rather than desktop computers – which means that your business needs a website that can cope with this paradigm shift – you need a responsive design.

What is a responsive design?

When people open your website on their mobile device they expect to see the same website as on their PC. They do not expect that the page is too wide for their device causing them to continually pan sideways so that they can see the whole page.

I am sure that this has happened to you and it is very annoying. Responsive designs are specifically created to provide a fluid layout for your website. They will display exactly the same across all screen sizes and resolutions.

Why is a responsive design important to your business?

The 2013 Internet Trends report, shows that in 2011 mobile internet traffic was 6% of global internet traffic, 10% in 2012 and 15% in 2013 (see graph below or click on link to see the full report). This means that the percentage of people who use the internet via a mobile device is increasing by approximately 50% each year – and this is expected to increase over the next few years.

Need further evidence? It is predicted that by the end of 2013 there will be a 70% increase in worldwide shipments of tablets as people move from PCs to mobile devices. In 2013 63% of mobile phone users access the internet using their smart phone – up from 55% in 2012 and 47% in 2011.

User experience is important – if people are frustrated with your website – they will vote with their feet. Accessing the internet via mobile devices is now a way of life and with increasing consumer demands, your business needs to be at the forefront of technology.

Your business needs brand recognition and consumers want ease of use – a responsive design is a win-win situation you cannot afford to miss out on. In a nutshell, a responsive design will provide the consumer with uniformity across all platforms and mobile devices. Your website will be more user-friendly and resizing and scrolling will be minimised. This result in an increase in usability, satisfaction and brand recognition.

So if you want to increase your ROI – make sure your digital strategy is up-to-date so that your website displays the same across different devices and platforms. For more information on responsive designs contact the web development team at Snapfrozen – digital experts who make the web work for your business.