How Mobile Responsive Design Can Help You Reach a New Audience

Do you read the newspaper on your tablet as you commute to work? Check out the price of holidays on your smartphone whilst daydreaming of warmer climates? Appetites are changing, software is diversifying and the way we consume our information is shifting too.

There’s a big chance that you’re looking at this on a smartphone or a tablet device. (Did your relationship with the internet change when you got one of those? We bet it did.)

When you do all this, it’s more than likely that you’re looking at responsively designed sites. These websites cater to the screen boundaries and capabilities of the device they’re viewed on.

Need an example?

Open www.bridgeall.com. Slowly make the browser thinner or wider. You’ll notice that the layout adjusts to a more ‘comfortable’ fit within the window. This is a responsive website. It has the power to expand your reach and to increase the value of your brand.

It’s the new buzzword in creative design and it’s definitely something you should take a look at.

Why it is Important…

In the era of BYOD, screen sizes and resolutions are constantly evolving. Creating different versions of a website for each individual device is financially implausible. Adopting a website design that shrinks or expands to fit your canvas allows for strong, cost-effective results.

In May 2013, Pew Internet found that 63% of adult smartphone owners use their devices to get online.[1] This ‘anytime, anywhere’ use of the internet continues to grow year-on-year.

It will symbolise a massive part of your market. Moving forward, responsive website design is something you need to address. It will also help you to grow your audience.

Responsive Design in the Tech Sector

A significant, emerging portion of the technology sector’s visitor traffic is now reliant upon websites that are optimised for mobile device viewing. Moving beyond 2013, the figures are expected to grow. The responsiveness of your site is almost certainly integral to the success of your content.

If you don’t enable a responsive site, then you’ll find a third of all traffic your site receives (at least!) will not be able to properly engage with your content. And they’ll switch off.

And they’ll find another more ‘responsive’ site to give their custom to.

How it All Fits Together to Help Create Responsive Inbound Marketing

Brightfire’s analysis suggests that initial user search tends to be carried out via a mobile device. Deeper research – or going ‘granular’, if you will – tends to be carried out on a laptop or desktop.

Engaging with the information consumption of your readers is essential. Mobile users are often time-poor and information hungry. They require – and expect – flexibility and responsiveness from a site. What they really need is content that is easy-to-read, consume and share – however they’re viewing it.

Making responsive design part of your content marketing strategy is essential. For creative marketers, tablets and smartphones are the perfect platform to present innovative, challenging and modern content. By applying a structured approach to design and marketing, mobile device solutions can be sought and more sales leads generated.

If your design shrinks to fit the palm of their hand and doesn’t compromise a thing in terms of information or user experience – you’ll win them over.

If you’re interested in reading more about using your website to build an online audience, then this is a great white paper – just click on the image below.

[1] http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/February/Pew-Internet-Mobile.aspx

Title image by Official GDC