6 Key Statistics That Show the Importance of Responsive Web Design

A year or two ago, building a responsive website was an option only for those who had a lot of money to throw around and didn’t have any issues with budget. For the common businessman, a responsive website was simply a waste of money as the majority of his viewers and customers were desktop or laptop users. This is no longer the case, and anyone willing to ignore the importance of RWD, does so at his own peril.

Before we get to the fun stuff, here is a definition of responsive web design for those who are still new to the whole thing. So, what is responsive web design? To put it simply, responsive web design is the method of developing websites that are optimized for view across all screen sizes including desktops, smartphones, tablets, etc. Quite essentially, what RWD does is automatically resize a website according to the screen dimensions of the device the website is being accessed on, making it easier for the user to view it with minimum panning, scrolling and resizing.

Alright, here’s the fun stuff. These statistics are the reason why responsive web design is an essential aspect of web design and development and not just a fad that can be ignored. If you haven’t already incorporated it in your website, you had better get cracking.

1. Mobile now accounts for 25% of all web usage

It means that on average, 25% of your existing and prospective customers are on a mobile device. That’s not an easy to ignore statistic for any businessman.

2. Mobile users will exceed desktop users by the end of 2014

According to several popular research firms, more people will access the web through their smartphones, tablets and wearable technologies than desktops or laptops. That’s yet another reason to go RWD and cut ahead of whatever competition still remains.

3. 48% of users feel that if a website does not work well on their smartphone, they feel the company does not care about the customer’s business.

This statistic speaks for itself. The survey was conducted by none other than Google itself, where 48% of those polled felt disappointed by a company if their website did not work well on their mobile devices.

4. 85% of adults feel that a company’s website should be as good if not better on their mobile screens than their desktops.

This goes to show the rising importance of mobility and people’s need for better and better mobile UX/UI. While the desktop is by no means dead, mobile has taken precedence over it for the majority for accessing information on the go.

5. 67% of users are more likely to make purchases through their smartphones on a responsive website than on a non-responsive website.

Yet another persuasive reason for you to optimize your website for the mobile and tablet screen. 67% translates to a rather big number.

6. 16% of mobile users are likely to leave your page if it loads too slowly.

It is generally accepted that if your page takes longer than 3 seconds to load on a mobile screen, the user will leave your page in search of one that is more optimized for his screen. When 16% of your existing and potential users have a tendency to do that, you know you’re in trouble if your page load time is not optimized.

So there you have it, 6 key reasons why RWD is the future of web design and development. As long as people are dependent on their mobile devices to carry out each and every task of their daily life, responsive web design will continue to evolve, flourish and grow.