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Health & Fitness

Responsiveness: How Is Your Business Reacting To A Mobile Marketplace?

How is Responsive Web Design putting mobile customers within the small business owners reach?

This week, Apple debuted its latest in mobile technology, the iPad Air. And while the thinner, lighter, iPad is mildly impressive (and sure to be outdone within a year) the real “wow factor” for me were the stats that came with it. No, not the updated processor or camera, but this: 

“170 million iPads sold to date”. Pew Research Center says that 35 percent of Americans now own tablets and that is an impressive picture of the growth of mobile technology adoption (The very first iPad was just introduced in April of 2010!). The question becomes, what is your business doing to adapt to an ever increasingly mobile marketplace?

So, how do you adapt? How do you make your website appeal to the mobile consumer? While there is no substitute for great content, responsive web design (RWD), is the answer. So what is it? At a high-level, RWD is a method for making sites that provide the best viewing experience, based on the device your viewing them from (think smartphones, tablets, and desktops). While businesses have, for the last few years, had two options: mobile site or mobile app, responsive web design is taking websites to a new era of “mobile-centric” design. Best of all; it's a cost-effective alternative to creating a mobile-only version of your website or investing money into an app. Basically, “it's 3...3...3 sites in 1”. (Gotta love cheesy infomercials right?)

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So, what's the downside? Well, you're going to have update that site you probably haven't touched in a while. You may see 20 or 30 customers in a day? How many are checking out your website before they decide to walk through your doors? It's probably more than you're aware of. For some businesses, 100 customers walking in your doors could translate to 1,000 people checking out the website or more. With consumers shifting from their desktops to their Apple, Microsoft and Android mobile devices, many businesses consider app development as a way to reach mobile customers. Now RWD is providing a way for your business to reach a growing market without the cost of developing apps or mobile sites, choosing which device to develop for, and repeating when you can afford to do another (and hopefully you didn't pay to have a BlackBerry app developed for your business). RWD lets you design once and let the latest technology work for you, showcasing your business in the best light for the consumers device.

Want to see it action? Check out our latest work with Pure Joy Photography's new website and stay tuned as we prepare to launch our own responsive website in November. Be sure to try them out from a phone, tablet and desktop for the hands on “RWD experience”.

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