Why Responsive Web Design Matters

January 06, 2014 by Allison Carter

responsive web designRemember 2013?  Well, way back then Mashable named 2013 the Year of Responsive Web Design.  Yet here it is 2014 and we are wondering where you are with your responsive web design.

What, exactly, is responsive web design?  

Odds are you know what it is and notice it but perhaps without realizing it.

Responsive web design refers to a website designed to adapt to whatever device a visitor is using.  This means that if the user opens a website on their laptop the design reads one way.  But when the user opens the same website on their tablet or phone, the design automatically adjusts to be resized, reframed, and easy to read on the new screen dimensions.

Those websites you visit on your phone where you have to turn your phone to landscape view, zoom in to read the text, and scroll to see the whole sentence?  That is not responsive web design.  

Responsive web design makes viewing a website from a tablet or smartphone an elegant and easy experience.

So why does responsive web design matter?    

According to Nielsen, as of June 2013 nearly 61% of cell phone users owned a smartphone, this being a jump of 10% from 2012.  Imagine if that trend continues and we see another 10% of growth this year and next!  Clearly, smartphones are the way of the future.

By the way, this statistic is merely accounting for smartphones and does not include tablet access to websites.  Factor in these mobile devices and the number of consumers accessing your website from a device other than a computer screen is staggering.

In fact, Morgan Stanley released data projecting that in 2014 all mobile device usage will surpass desktop usage.  

Some of the most convincing statistics were released by Margin Media:

  • 67% of users said they're more likely to purchase a product or service from a site that is mobile-friendly
  • 74% of users said they would be more likely to return to a site in the future which has been mobile optimized
  • 52% of users said they would be less likely to engage with a company if the mobile experience on their site was bad
  • 48% of users become frustrated and annoyed when on sites that have been either been poorly optimized or not optimized at all


It is easy to see the powerful impact responsive web design can have on your business given these statistics.

Even Forbes states unequivocally that your business needs a responsive web site by 2014.  In fact, Joshua Steimle from Forbes goes so far as to say, “[if] your business isn’t taking advantage of responsive web design right now or planning on it in the very near future, you are in danger of going out of business in 2014.”  

Of course, here we are in 2014.  
So where are you with your responsive web design?  

BP Studios would love to help you design a responsive web site.  Email us at info@bpstudios.com to get started.

About the Author
Allison Carter is a Senior Content Strategist with BP Studios.  She loves writing blogs, tweeting, Facebooking (which she still thinks should be a verb), and helping companies get their message out.


 



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