5compellingThe future of the web - whether talking about shopping, social media or SEO – quite obviously belongs to mobile devices. Consequently, having a responsive website is no alternative, but a must.

Mobile means in the following not only smartphones, but all kind of mobile devices - from tablet to phablet to all internet-enabled mobile phones. Besides, ‘mobile first’ has already become an obsolete slogan, as the motto has to be rather ‘user first’, since the user feels already absolutely at home in the multi-screen world.

1. Mobile web usage is rapidly increasing

According to figures from Statista, around 40% of the global web traffic is now mobile and it is expected that these statistics continue to shift in favor of mobile, considering that there are now more mobile devices in the world than people.

2. End of growth in mobile shopping isn’t in sight

There are countless statistics that show the growth of mobile commerce, with purchases done via mobile devices doubling on a regular basis. Without doubt, mCommerce is an important part of eCommerce, but only for pages that are prepared for it.

3. Social media increases the number of mobile visitors

Social media is already mobile to the core, as the number of users proves. With Facebook mobile usage being only 68%, Twitter at least already 86%, and the image masters Pinterest and Instagram above 90%, there is no serious doubt that these numbers will move even more towards mobile. Websites, that get traffic from social media, must inevitably be prepared.

4. A responsive website is good for SEO

Regarding search, mobile has already surpassed desktop. As if that were not enough, Google has included the multi-screen capability of a website as the official ranking factor already more than a year ago. So it's no longer about whether visitors to your site have a good user experience or not - it's about whether they get there at all.

So, what’s holding you back to embrace responsive design, then?

By Daniela La Marca