With the rapid growth in the smartphone and tablet market over the last five years, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to have websites that cover all media types. As a result, responsive website designs are becoming extremely popular so that no matter what the device, the user experience will be just consistently positive. With the web being completely universal, people are browsing in different locations and on different devices meaning that the need for a mobile-friendly website is no longer just important to businesses, it’s essential.
User experience designers are on the rise, which continues to ensure us that a poor mobile experience is a thing of the past. As mobile now accounts for over 20% of all web traffic, it is absolutely crucial that the customer experience is effortless and not at all frustrating. Therefore, responsive design is a no brainer, it makes websites easier to read, easier to navigate and most importantly keeps people interested.
Integrating responsive design can be cost effective and actually save time. In the end, a positive user experience can start to provide a return on investment. In order to do this, you must build a website that showcases your business as best it can on every relevant smart device. If you have a limited budget, fear not, there are ways that you can make a desktop website mobile friendly and create a great user experience at the same time. Using plug-ins for example, already means that your website will automatically enable mobile users to access a mobile version. Google have a great online tool, Google Mobile Optimiser, which looks for mobile versions of your site and allows you to test your site in preparation for smartphones and tablet PC’s.
At the very least it is important to simplify your site design, so that if your website is displayed on a mobile, it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and that the user is happy with the experience. If you’re going all out however, adaptive design is the way forward, it truly is the high end of website design and requires heavy investment. With this being said, it has the potential to reach the largest possible online audience.
Making your website mobile ready and/or responsive can be done in a number of different ways, the best options (in my opinion) are listed below. However, it is important to consider what you are trying to achieve from your site before choosing an option. Just remember that a truly awesome design will always help to bring in more customers, and keep them there.
- WordPress Responsive Theme
- WPTouch Pro – Recommended
- WPTap
- WP Mobile Detector
- WordPress Mobile
- Duda Mobile WordPress Plugin
