Web design
for mobile
The Future Is Now
At AWESEM we put responsive web design at the heart of our approach. And why is this important? Consider the growing number and proliferating range of devices available worldwide:
- 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022 according to Statista
- 165 million tablets sold in 2022
Research shows that 57% consumers will not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site. Furthermore, 40% consumers will go to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience.
‘Mobile design’ describes our approach to web design, that makes sure your content is engaging, well laid-out and navigable, whether it’s accessed on a mobile, a tablet or a desktop PC.
So. We do mobile design to make sure your audience remains engaged with your content, business and message, however they find your site.
And how do we ‘do’ mobile design? There are two approaches: responsive and optimised.
‘Mobile design’ describes our approach to web design, that makes sure your content is engaging, well laid-out and navigable, whether it’s accessed on a mobile, a tablet or a desktop PC.
So. We do mobile design to make sure your audience remains engaged with your content, business and message, however they find your site.
And how do we ‘do’ mobile design? There are two approaches: responsive and optimised.
Responsive Design
- With responsive design, the design and layout responds according to the device used, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or desktop.
- The responsive design approach is often employed when a site is created from scratch, with built-in adaptability for different devices and to make it future-ready.
- Responsive design uses fluid grids, fluid images and smart mark-up so that the content adjusts to the screen resolution.
Optimised design
- A second, parallel site is developed specifically for different devices, e.g m.facebook.com.
- Device-specific layout, navigation and functionality features, all included to maximize the user experience on that specific device.
- Usually applied where a new, mobile- or tablet-specific version of an existing site is required. The original site has often been designed with the desktop environment in mind, but needs optimising for the mobile context.
What’s the best mobile design?
Choosing whether to have a responsive or optimised site will depend on what you need your site to do for you and the resources available – and of course, what is right for your audience.
Responsive design
- Ideal for sites with simple content and lower levels of functionality – corporate/brochure sites, blogs
- Minimal maintenance – any update will apply across all formats, therefore needs only be done once
- Higher initial demand on resources and set up costs, lower ongoing maintenance costs
- Challenging to retrofit – it may be more effective to consider a redesign
Optimised Design
- Overall increased ongoing resource
- Ideal for complex sites with varied content and complex functionality
- Increased maintenance requirement – updates need to be duplicated across different versions
Mobile design is a rapidly developing area of web design. At AWESEM we have been developing responsive themes since 2012. Talk to us about your requirements for customised and bespoke responsive website design – and we’ll bring our mobile expertise to your project.
