As we move into 2012, smartphones continue their upward trek in usage worldwide.  According to some reports, almost 90% of smartphone users access their devices on a daily basis [INFOGRAPHIC from go-gulf.com] and 84% of the time, they are browsing the internet.  What does that mean as a website owner?  Easy answer -- if your site is not mobile ready, then you may be losing a perspective customer.  Well how can you solve this issue?

 

In the past, mobile versions of your site were typically created to mirror content on the main site but deliver it in a more user friendly way.  As a person on a smartphone landed on your site, they were redirected to the mobile version.  But what about a tablet or different types of smartphones?  Should that go to the mobile version or the main site?  Maybe it should have its own redirect?  This now means you have increased issues and costs for branding accuracy, development time, and maintenance.  

 

Here come Responsive Layouts to save the day.  Utilizing this type of framework in your web development project, you will greatly reduce the time and money spent.  Responsive Layouts  automatically adjust their look, feel, and sizing based on the screen size of the device being used.  Another huge benefit of the framework it is not device specific.  This means if your user has the resolution on their computer set very low (ie. 640x480), they will see version of the site tailored to them instead of one that will quickly make them jump ship.  Check out these examples to help clarify.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the website is displayed a little different on each device based on the screen size but the overall branding remains the same.  Using this framework, the development and maintenance will be greatly reduced.  

 

For more information, feel free to contact us and check out the resources below.