A Word on Mobile Usage Statistics
Time for some cold, hard facts.
- 82% of mobile shoppers search on Google before they make a purchase. (Google)
- Smartphone users around the globe will total 2 billion in the next two years. (Bloomberg)
- 75% of Americans admitted to using their smartphones while sitting on the potty. (11mark)
- About 85% of the world’s population will have 3G access in 2017. (Econsultancy)
- As of January 2014, 58% of American adults have a smartphone. (Pew Center)
See where I’m going with this?
Going mobile is not really optional anymore. If a business or organization wants to stay relevant to 75% of Americans in 2014, and to 85% of the world population in 2017, they have to be mobile-friendly.
Gearing Up For a Brave, New, Mobile-Centric World
You’re a smart person. I’m sure you’ve already thought about a mobile website, but maybe you don’t know exactly what it entails. Do you need a separate website for mobile from the web version? Do you need to build an app? How do you make a website display beautifully across tablets and smartphones and laptops and desktops and smart TVs?
The first thing to point out is that mobile-friendly doesn’t just mean designing for smartphones. It actually means designing for a range of new tech devices. Developers’ and designers’ first line of device against this ocean of new technology has been responsive design.
As John Polacek put it, “Responsive websites respond to their environment.”
When you invest in a mobile-friendly website, Polacek recommends you consider the following:
- Time and money
- Browser support
- Performance
- Content
- Website vs. web app
How to Talk to Your Designer About Mobile
This blog post can’t really tell you all you need to know about responsive design. But your web designer probably can. Your web designer is paid to know the latest trends in web development, including mobile-responsive design. Before you meet with him or her, spend a few hours looking over web responsive tutorials. The more you learn about responsive and its capabilities, the better you can envision your business on mobile-centric platforms.
Check out these for a more comprehensive overview:
- Ethan Marcotte’s Responsive Web Design
- Tuts+ Design Resources
- Design News from This is Responsive
We recommend reading out these specific articles before you meet with your designer:
- Brad Frost’s “How Much Does a Responsive Web Design Cost?”
- Econsultancy’s “14 Brands That Increased Conversion Rates Via Responsive Design”
- Edward Robertson’s “Is Responsive Web Design Worth It?”
- Matt Griffin’s “Client Relationships and the Multi-device Web”
You should also check out prominent examples of responsive design. We selected some of our favorites from a range of industries. Don’t forget to check out these websites using different devices! (Hint: If you’re using a laptop or desktop browser window, you can adjust the size of the browser window to simulate the responsive experience.)
And on that note, I’m going to grab a latte from Starbucks…while surfing the internet on my smartphone.
Join the conversation!
How many times a day do you use your smartphone to search something, make a purchase or kill some downtime?
