Responsive Web Design (RWD) is a term that refers to a website that is code so that it looks a certain way on your desktop computer and "magically" adjusts its navigation and format to look great on mobile devices. A great example is a new website I'm working on for Morgann Hill Designs. View this on your computer and it looks a certain way (navigation across the top, pictures down below), view it on your phone and it has the same style but a different layout (navigation in a dropdown, pictures sized appropriately).
There was a time when people needed one website for their desktop customers to view and one for their mobile device customers to view. That meant twice the price, twice the maintenance and twice the headaches. Not anymore. You can have ONE site that does the work of TWO.
What does this mean for your business?
Consider these facts taken from parature.com:
1. More people in the United States will access the web via mobile devices than via wireline computers by 2015. – IDC’s Worldwide New Media Market Model (NMMM) Forecast
2. Sixty-six percent (66%) of those ages 18-29 own smartphones, and 68% of those living in households earning $75,000 or above also own them. Sixty-one percent (61%) of college grads own smartphones compared to just 36% of high school only grads. – Pew Research
3. There are more than 5 billion mobile phones worldwide. Within the past two years, the number of Google searches on mobile devices has grown by 500%. By 2016, mobile searches will overtake PC searches for local search. – Google 2012 Our Mobile Planet Smartphone Research
4. Smartphones influence 5.1% of annual retail store sales or $159 billion in revenue. – Deloitte
Why invest in a mobile-friendly website?
Because it accounts for about half of all your website visitors! Make it easier for them and you've increased your visibility dramatically!
