The idea that you must have a computer in order to surf the Internet has long gone. Today, more and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to browse the web. As a business, you must respond to this trend as soon as possible (if you haven’t done so already). It is crucial that you look into Responsive Design for your website, let us tell you why.
First, let’s look at the statistics. Statista.com states that for 2015:
- PC sales are at 129 million
- Laptop sales are at 194 million
- Tablet sales have skyrocketed to 332 million. Only 5 short years ago tablet sales were at only 19 million.
What we are seeing here, is the continuation of a large shift in consumer trends. The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that 87% of connected devices sales by 2017 will be tablets and smartphones. The graph below shows the estimated market share of each platform over the coming years.
But what does this mean for website owners?
Well, previously developers would create a separate website specifically for each type of device: Smartphone/Tablet/Computer. However with so much competition within these industries, companies are creating devices with all different types of sizes and resolutions. This poses a challenge, how can a website be created to suit a wide range of screen resolutions?
The solution! Responsive Web Design. But what is it?
Responsive Design is the way in which you can use one website to suit each device. A responsively built website will determine the resolution and screen size, and then resize the webpages elements (text, images, menus etc.) accordingly to the device. This is done through the use of ‘media queries’. You can check if a website is responsive by making your browser window smaller and then larger. If it is a responsive website than the webpage will adapt automatically to the size of the browser window.
Should I make my website responsive?
In short, YES!
In the online world of business, image is everything. Recently Google completed a study on how many devices the average person uses to accomplish their particular goal (e.g. purchasing a product or choosing to go into business with another company). The findings were that 90% of people use a number of different devices to accomplish their goal. In another study prepared by Latitude they determined that “61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience”.
So having a well-designed responsive website that works across all devices is the key to improving your company image. If you are looking for ways to increase user engagement or have been thinking about re-designing your website, responsive web design is definitely worth considering.
Speak with an expert about responsive web design today. Call the team at Fireworks on 1300 660 160 today!