Responsive web design has never been as important as it is now. More and more people are using their phones or tablets to browse the web and it is for this reason your website needs to be responsive.

Facts and Figures

Taking a look at the graph with data provided by eMarketer.com you can see how much people are now using their tablets to go on the internet. 9.8 Million people used tablets in 2012, that is 15.6% of the UK population! This figure has increased in 2013 to 13.4 million users and 21.2% of the population. In 2014 it is predicted that the rise will result in a quarter of the UK population using tablets to browse the internet.

These figures show how important it is to have responsive web design, we are in 2014 and if these predictions work out as they should, then not having a responsive web design will basically mean you are potentially cutting off a quarter of the UK population from seeing your website on their tablet device. Not sure about you, however Colour Media can definitely not afford to cut off a quarter of the UK population, we want and need as many people on our website as possible.

There are now so many different tablets out there. They all have different screen sizes and different resolutions. This table on the right shows exactly how many people are using the Apple iPad. It also shows the predicted increase in users year after year, going from 2.4% of the UK population in 2010 to 13.6% in 2013. It is only predicted to increase, reaching 19.8% in 2016 which will be over half of all tablet users.

Responsive Web Design or an App?

Having digested all of the facts and figures above we come to the question of, should we have responsive web design or should we create an app? The answer is simply yes. Yes to both, firstly you must always have a responsive web design, without it you are potentially cutting off a large portion of the population as we have already said. However, knowing that out of all tablet users over 50% of them are using an iPad definitely helps. Why not create an app for your website? It does not need to have all of the functionality of the website, it just needs to be simple, clean and unique. It is another way of targeting the modern technology savvy customer. You can design an app that targets iPad users directly, having screen resolutions and sizes that match their device perfectly. This is something that can also be brought over to Android screen sizes and phones. The most importnat thing to consider is your marketing channels, if someone downloads an app it is on their device until they delete it. If someone goes on your website, it is forgotten about once they leave, if they see the app on their tablet it might just remind them that they do want to buy your product, service or look at your portfolio.

If you have any questions about app design please get in touch with Colour Media using our contact page.