Responsive design is the approach to developing a website so that it is optimised for a wide range of devices, from mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers.
Grab your mobile and visit your website.
Are you happy with how it functions? Is it easy to navigate? Are the menu and search bars functional? The ‘call to action’ clear and the ‘contact us’ link clearly visible? Now put yourself in the shoes of your customers and prospects - would they be satisfied with the same mobile experience?
If not, you’re potentially losing traffic, conversions, damaging potential relationships and negatively impacting your online brand.
Despite the growth in awareness that a mobile accessible website is crucial, a large amount of businesses still place it in the ‘we’ll get around to it’ list.
If your business falls into this category, your procrastination is understandable. A recent study by the CMO council found that the top two challenges for Australian marketers executing digital campaigns are budget constraints and resourcing.
With limited budgets and resources, convincing the decision makers that optimising your website for different devices and browsers is harder than it should be, but the reality is that it’s no longer a luxury.
Mobile users are typically very focused and transaction-orientated in comparison to desktop users so they haven’t got the time or motivation to battle through a poor mobile website design.
Also consider that:
- 41% of Australians have purchased a product or service on their Smartphone ‘Our Mobile Planet’
- 25.85% of all emails are opened on mobile phones, and 10.16% are opened on tablets. Source
- Over 20% of Google searches are being performed on a mobile device. Source
- 55% of social media consumption happens on a mobile device, which is driving traffic to your website. Source
- Google Analyst ‘Pierre Farr’ went on the record to say that a responsive designed website improves search engine optimisation. Source
- An optimised site increases site speed, improving bounce rates and conversions. Source
- Responsive will adapt to future devices
So what is your next step?
Take a closer look at your website analytics and pull up reports on device/browser traffic. Look at engagement, bounce rates and most importantly conversions and review this data over time. This should give you an indication of how mobile your online audience is and provide valuable ammunition in justifying a website redesign.
Without it, your website is essentially unfinished; it’s no different than a poorly designed retail store – it’s all about the experience. Give them a great experience and they’ll linger, look around and engage. Make it hard and they’ll just leave and visit your rivals instead.
According to Google Think, a website that functions seamlessly on all devices will drastically improve retention of unique visitors because of the user experience and 67% of mobile users were more likely to make a purchase as a result.
So why are you still waiting?