Now, we can safely say that 2014 is indeed the year of mobile. Smartphones had taken the place of desktops, laptops, and even tablets. And why not? You could have and do everything you need with using a phone. This also motivates Google to predict that by the fourth quarter of 2014, people will prefer a mobile-first lifestyle. In this article, we will explore responsiveness and whether responsive designs convert much better than non-responsive ones despite the hesitation of some brands to go responsive. Every web design company in Manila please take heed!
What does the statistics say?
Smart Insights gathered valuable statistics from various sources. The stats are precedents of the importance of going responsive today.
- In 2011, of the 4 billion mobile phone usage worldwide, 1.08 billion are smartphones.
- In 2012, more than 50% of local searches are conducted through mobile devices.
- In the US, 25% of the users access Internet through their mobile devices only.
- On average, an American spends 2.7 hours daily socializing via their mobile devices.
- Women aged between 35 and 54 years old tend to be the most active in socializing online.
- About 86% of mobile users use their devices while viewing another screen such as television.
- Nowadays, mobile device users use their mobile phones to play games (61%), learn weather (55%), view maps and search (50%), socialize (49%), listen to music (42%) and read news (36%), among others.
Evidently, mobile use has been and continues to be an important device for us, highlighting the criticality of capturing the users at the right time at the right place.
Nevertheless, there is another set of statistics pooled by SEOcial. The figures below also reveal the necessity of having a responsive web design.
- Now, mobile traffic makes up 16% of the overall web traffic.
- About 66% of mobile users are frustrated with sites’ page load times.
- About 16% of mobile users give up if a page is too slow.
- About 85% of adult mobile users think of mobile sites as good or even better than their desktop counterparts.
- About 67% of mobile users said they will make a purchase on a mobile-friendly website.
- Based on Google’s survey, 48% of mobile users perceive that a company doesn’t really care for them if its website doesn’t work well on their smartphones.
- A study about 5,300 mobile users, 48% complained about non-responsive websites.
Why must you be responsive?
Since mobile usage is constantly on the rise and with no signs of slowing down, there is a good reason why companies are cramming their way to web design companies in the Philippines or any other part of the world for that matter. The statistics above showed that adjusting to accommodate the users need for a mobile web experience is needed more than ever. Being responsive is a powerful way of reaching and communicating with your target audience.
As such, being non-responsive may have serious consequences. First, your customers will feel ignored. No one wants to be ignored or to even harbor the feeling that you are deliberately being ignored; it is a very unhealthy feeling. When a person feels so, the next logical step is to move on to other available options – yes, these are the brands with mobile-friendly sites. As such, you cannot reach as many users as possible if your website is not responsive. You are doing your competition a favor with this unfortunate situation.
Second, you are not only losing potential leads but also losing the opportunity to convert mobile users into buying customers. Remember that smartphones are also used in purchasing goods and services. Users invest their times and effort in selecting brands (yours included) and rummaging through the product categories to find what they want. We, as users (me included), reward those brands that provide us with the best goods and of course, services. Part of that service is being available 24/7 at the time that is most convenient for us. How can we reward you if we cannot even locate you on our smartphones?
Third, you should not only think about browser responsiveness – that’s so 2011. Having a website that is optimized for mobile users is not solely about traffic and conversion (although these are the ultimate goals). Responsiveness may also mean boosting brand awareness. Aberdeen Group also conducted a study and confirmed that those who chose to make their sites responsive achieve 10.9% additional visitors. Perhaps, one reason for this is Google’s move to prioritize mobile-friendly sites when a search is done on a mobile device.
Fourth, you don’t need a new website, but rather a mobile version of the current one. That is, if the desktop version of your website is already responsive web design-friendly. If not, it would be better to build a multi-device responsive site because it is cheaper that way. Google recommends using a single website that is responsive on various devices than having a separate site for desktop and mobile devices (one site, multiple devices regardless of the sizes of the screens). It is easier to manage this way and cost-effective in the long run. Not to mention, responsive designs adapt to future devices.
Fifth, you can minimize the high bounce rates. For one, a responsive website increases the dwell time of the users or the length of time that the user stays on your site. The more time a user spends on your site, the more likely that he or she is going to purchase your products and services. That’s positive user experience working to your advantage! As such, if you finally decide to make your website mobile-optimized, make sure that the users will enjoy being on your site. Good thing a responsive web design does not compromise the contents that are displayed on the users’ screens.
While some businesses think that being responsive is optional, the figures and reasons outlined above provided that it is increasingly becoming mandatory. Don’t be hesitant in transitioning to becoming mobile-friendly. It might be a huge and costly decision on your part, but it can be the single most beneficial decision that you will ever make for your business. Going back to the question, indeed, responsive web design converts, but it should be considered along with other design strategies. Desktop and mobile site versions must be a tandem!
Image credit: Cynexis.com
