I’m sure you’ve heard the term “responsive” over the last couple of years. If you haven’t, you’ve been shacked up in a cave…
So why am I just now writing a blog post about responsive web? Well it’s not because it’s new to me or anything. I’ve been developing responsive websites for almost 3 years now. Which is almost since the inception of the responsive web Movement.
And I mean Movement with a capital M.
A responsive website is a website that is one codebase, but the layout responds differently depending on which device you are looking at the website on. The website you are currently reading this article on is a responsive website. If you are reading this blog post on a mobile device, there is only one column, but if you looked at it on a large monitor, there would be a sidebar on the right side.
What this allows a web developer to do, is to have one site that looks great across a multitude of devices, whether they are phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, or anything in-between. Instead of two websites to maintain and sending mobile users to a mobile website (remember those?) it’s just one website. Yay!
So why do you need a responsive website as soon as possible?
Nearly 40% of ALL Internet traffic is coming from mobile devices. You need to convert those additional 40% of users, and you need to do it quick.
That means if you have a ecommerce website, and it’s NOT responsive, you are missing out on an additional 40% of revenue. Imagine converting 40% more business. Some industries like Google Maps, see almost 85% of their traffic from mobile devices.
So what can you do? It isn’t as simple as bootstrapping your code into a responsive template. You need a strategy for your content on your responsive website. You can’t just drop in your content on a template and expect to convert those 40% of users into customers. You need to think through the entirety of your content and develop a strategy that leverages your brand, the design, and your goals for the website. Only then can you being to layout how your site will look like across several devices.
But don’t lose heart, next week I will be writing the first blog post in a series on how to create a responsive website from start to finish. So check back in often and leave a comment below!
Josh
