With sales figures reaching all time highs, can your website cope with the demands of todays mobile audience? We take a look a facts and figures surrounding responsive web design in 2014 and beyond.
As analysts all over the world dubbed 2013 the year of 'responsive web design', then I would hope that everyone who has an online presence would know what the term meant. But don't panic if it doesn't mean anything to you, it just means that Christmas 2013 you probably missed out on being part of a 600million shopping splurge by the British public.
That's right, the British public reached record breaking heights this last December. By hitting the sales a day early, from the comfort of their own homes, they increased the sales purchases from last year by almost a massive 20% according to the British Retail Consortium. Yes, shopping online has made it's mark and it's here to stay.
Mobile winning over desktop!
The mobile user is even predicted to become the dominant online visitor in 2014, taking over from desktop users. Those companies that want to be relevant in today's online market need to invest in their websites to be mobile compatible with a responsive design, to be able to compete for this demanding audience. It's as simple as that!
Responsive web design, what is it?
So, what is 'responsive web design' and why has it been so instrumental in online sales? Well, responsive web design is what allows mobile devices to be compatible with a website, it allows for a graceful transition from desktop, to tablet and in turn smartphone. It is slowly stopping the irritating 'zooming in' on pages because the text is too small to read, and the frustrations when you hit every menu area but the one you want, because the menu buttons are too small. It is the next stage in web design, and luckily for those who missed the 2013 hype, this year will see responsive web design get bigger and better.
No e-commerce, still pay attention!
For those who don't have an e-commerce website, don't get complacent, visitors to your site will be expecting more from you in the coming months also. Google is already recommending 'responsive web design' as the way forward for mobile users. But, if you are still aren't convinced by responsive design, then I would encourage everyone to take a look at their analytics (if you don't have analytics on your website, this is another issue entirely). See how many visitors you have had over the past quarter and you will see that the amount of tablet and mobile users has grown significantly. You will also notice a trend in the amount of time that they have spent on your site. I would take an educated guess and say that your visitors from mobiles and tablets spend less time on your site, they visit fewer pages and they have a higher bounce rate than your desktop visitors. This will be due to those frustrations mentioned earlier, your visitors can't cope with trying to zoom into text and hitting the wrong links, causing them to go elsewhere.
What the future holds!
Responsive Web Design is already here and has been for a while now, don't be left behind for another year. Your business will need to continue to move with the times to be able to keep up the expectations of your visitors. That is, unless you can afford to be losing customers to companies that are already moving towards responsive designs and seeing their profits shoot through the roof.
Why not visit our responsive website tester and see what you website will look like to your valuable mobile users?
Alethea Snart - Contributor at Dupree Creative