As the global online community continues to use mobile and tablet devices when conducting business and personal activities, it is becoming increasingly important to design websites with responsive usability in mind. According to a report by GlobalWebIndex, tablet ownership increased by 282% from Q1 2011 to Q1 2013, while desktop ownership decreased by 2006 from April 2006 to April 2012. A separate study from Juniper Research has reported that smartphone purchases have increased by 50% from Q3 2012 to Q3 2013.
Who is benefiting from responsive design?
There are some verticals in particular that are experiencing a boom in mobile traffic. The banking and financial services sector is experiencing that by implementing sophisticated responsive design, their mobile customers use more banking products and display deep loyalty. The travel and hospitality sector is also experiencing benefits from focusing on responsive design. Since many business travelers need to be connected to work activities even while in transit, travel companies are utilizing websites created with responsive css in order to provide those travelers with the best possible mobile working experience.
Responsive design: some considerations
When any business upgrades to responsive web design, there are a number of considerations and pitfalls that they should be aware of.
- Content bloating. Websites that are optimized for mobile and tablet users should not be crowded with content. The greater the amount of content, the longer a site will take to load on a mobile device. Considering that 74% of mobile users will leave a web page if the content has not loaded within that time, streamlining content is imperative.
- Advanced mobile integration. The benefits of responsive design are far greater than facilitating the ability to view a website while in transit. A truly responsive design should also take advantage of mobile features such as initiating calls and identifying locations.
- Advanced functionalities. Businesses planning on building responsive websites should be aware that it is more difficult for a responsive design to support advanced functionalities such as application forms. Alternatives such as touch conversions should be considered for mobile sites.
If your company requires responsive website development that provides a seamless experience for clients and customers across all devices, contact EX2 for a free consultation. Our commitment to cross-platform flexibility will result in an intuitive user experience that can incorporate all of the advanced features of responsive design.
