The mobile revolution is well underway with mobile devices almost certainly appearing on any Christmas and Birthday wish list and for those who already have one, they will be making their Christmas and Birthday purchases with them ! Shopping really is one of the driving forces behind this significant trend of mobile internet traffic, with many now using their smartphones and tablets to not only browse and network but to make purchases as well.
So for this reason, if you have a presence on the internet, it is now a necessity that you have a Responsive Website, in order to captivate this growth market.
Lifestyles have been influenced significantly in recent years by the use of mobile devices and their ability to provide immediate access to the internet. We are now no longer happy to wait until we are back in the office or at home to access e-mails or browse for information. We now want access whilst on the move and smartphones and tablets allow us to do that.
When you have crossed the threshold to this level of browsing and information handling it is very difficult to revert back to old ways and simply wait ! We will inevitably become only more and more proficient in these new habits and as such our level of expectation will rise. To fulfil these expectations businesses will have to respond accordingly and if your website is not totally visible and proves difficult to navigate whilst being viewed via a mobile device, then you can expect to lose that valuable traffic that has found you. Worse still, it will be to a competitor who has had the foresight to make this investment into their web design.
But what does Responsive Web Design (RWD) mean ?
Basically it is when a website has been optimised for mobile use and will adapt to the different screen size that it is being viewed through. The content is flexible and will realign, shuffle and resize itself to accommodate the boundaries of the new screen size, to guarantee that the browser can still access the information presented and have a positive experience.
From a design point of view there has to be an understanding of the market that the site is targeting and the experience desired of that user, so that information is presented appropriately. This will not be the same for every business and this is where our designers at South Wales Web Solutions are able to capitalise on the relationships we have with our clients and the knowledge they have of the client’s business to quickly identify the areas of focus and the best way to present the information in the alternative resized formats.
Information can still be updated and maintained as before so from an administrator or editor point of view the content will be entered on the same platform. It is the design elements introduced by the web developer that will translate the size and style of presentation as and when required.
So for our South Wales web design team, RWD is most definitely a major consideration every time we take on a new project and is top priority when reviewing existing client sites so that they remain current.
This mobile trend is most definitely having a significant impact on business and lifestyle. Its value is immeasurable and with indicators predicting 1 mobile device per person by 2017, it cannot be overlooked.
Being so close to your customers has never been so easy and staying close to them will be that much easier when you have introduced Responsive Web Design.