There is a good chance you're reading this blog on a tablet or smartphone. How do I know? NI has the highest rate of tablet ownership in the UK. Almost half of households in Northern Ireland now have a tablet computer compared to just 2% in 2011, according to a recent report published by Ofcom.
The research also suggests that more than half the adults in NI use a smartphone compared to 21% in 2011. With more and more people using tablets or smartphones to browse the internet, having a responsive website is no longer simply a nice feature but rather a necessity.
A responsive website is critical to online success with tablet and smartphone internet usage skyrocketing over the past few years but even with this compelling evidence, the vast majority of business websites are still not tablet or smartphone friendly. It's essential for websites to adapt quickly to this huge shift towards mobile browsing otherwise your website visitors will simply go elsewhere. Mobile users who land on a non-responsive website will quickly become frustrated with poor mobile experience and go to another website, most likely a competitor's site.
One of the most appealing aspects of responsive design is that a fully responsive website can provide a great user-experience across many devices, from laptop and desktop to tablet and smartphone. A responsive website adapts instantly to the users' device providing the best user-experience possible. No more manually zooming in to read website text or clicking a minuscule 'Buy Now' button, both of which are clear frustrations with non-responsive websites.
Google agrees, stating responsive design is its recommended mobile configuration, and even goes so far as to refer to responsive web design as best practice. For this reason, a responsive site typically performs highly on Google search engine result pages and is preferred for search engine optimisation (SEO).
Benefits include:
- Enhance User Experience - Google Loves Responsive - Reduce Bounce Rate - Increase Conversion Rate - Stay ahead of Competition
In the business world, you have to stay ahead of the competition. Most likely, your competitors have not invested in a responsive website yet, which means they are losing out on potential customers which could be yours. Flint Studios are experts in responsive design whether it's building a responsive website from scratch or improving your existing website for smartphone and tablet browsing.
Want to know more?
Give us a call on +44 (0) 28 9045 5554 or drop us an email [email protected], we'd love to hear from you.
Here are some examples of great responsive design by Flint Studios