Mashable, the popular media website, has announced that 2013 is “The Year of Responsive Design”.
There are some great stats in the article. It’s worth the five minutes to read entirely. The stats focus on the change in online user behavior.
For the last ten years the desktop computer has ruled the Internet world. This made the job of the Web designer relatively easy. A little over five years ago the iPhone debuted and while it wasn’t the first smartphone it certainly changed the way people use the Internet.
Today, smartphones and tablets make up a large portion of the devices people use to consume content online. It’s an incredible shift and it’s one most businesses will need to pay attention too next year and even more in the coming years.
Here are a few things you need to know about the mobile change.
Responsive Design is Different Than a Mobile Website
In the past you may have had your designer create a mobile version of your website. This means you have two different websites – one for desktop users and another for smartphone users.
Responsive design uses a different approach allowing you to have a single website. As you change the size of the screen the website elements change to best accomodate the size of the screen.
Responsive design is being widely accepted. Many media sites like Mashable are using it. Google recommends responsive design for providing users with the best experience.
Mashable is right that responsive is going to be more common next year. Companies in all industries are moving to responsive design. There is more work upfront by your designer to create the different sizes (still one site) of your website, but it becomes a much better experience for your user.
One important thing to remember about a different design is that users are still used to your full-size site. When you change elements and locations of things people get confused and frustrated. Make sure you understand how people use your site and make it easy for them to find everything they want. It’s tricky so be careful not to remove many (or any) elements from pages.
Target Customer Age Is Important
This is a transition period. Not every Internet user is browsing the web on a smartphone or tablet. Many are using all three or two of the three.
The way to look at this is with an age view. Older people are going to continue to use their desktops mostly. Sure, there will be some outliers, but for the most part older people will continue to use desktops.
The younger your customer is the more likely they are to use mobile devices.
Consider this point and more about your customer when deciding if investment in a responsive design is important.
Next Step: Creating Content on Mobile Devices
One last point about responsive design that is slightly related.
One thing smartphones and tablets lack is giving people the ability to create content. Typing is still relatively difficult for most people. I’m trying to learn how to type fast on a tablet. One day I’ll get there and so will most people, but for writers and other content creators the desktop (or laptop) will remain important.
Like I said above this is a transition period and will be for at least a few years.
What responsive design gives you is a website that can adapt to whatever device happens to come about in the future. It’s a good option if you feel your customer is going to use different devices in the coming years.
Do you have questions about responsive design?
Ask them in the comments.
