Overview
Now that mobile websites are popular today, mobile commerce is here to stay. Merchants are now in a quandary whether to use responsive design or mobile websites for their eCommerce stores.
Frankly, there is a key difference between what a responsive design is and a mobile website. The latter is usually separate from the main site design and this generally means that the mobile site has different control along with a different layout, and must be loaded separately from the desktop design. Read more on Utilizing Responsive Web Design For your eCommerce Website.
When it comes to a mobile website, some website content isn’t available on the mobile website. Whereas, the same page content is used in the case of a responsive design, rather than splitting it up into separate websites.
What about apps?
Sometimes, merchants get confused between building an app for smartphones/tablets and responsive design. Today, the generation belongs to apps and these have turned into a rage these days. Presently, large app companies post big numbers about the number or apps that users have downloaded and installed on their mobile phones. However, a few reasons do indicate the reason for the need of responsive design in favor of a mobile app.
- In case you need an app, you need to get it from an appropriate app store. In order to browse a site that only offers a mobile app, you need to go to the app store, download the app, and only the they can visit a mobile-friendly version of the website. This can be a hassle and take extra time, because with a responsive design, the visitor can simply use the browser that is already installed in their phone so that they can immediately begin browsing the site.
Also, as a smartphone user, you might have many apps that are already installed on your device. It could be so that you are reluctant to install more. Many users might not even have the storage space on their phone to add another app. If you do not want to utilize a website too often, then he or she isn’t less inclined to install a dedicated app. In the case of a responsive design, the user does not even have to install a dedicated app.
- Most apps are designed and programmed in such a way that they are specific to a certain operating system and a device type. As you will understand, an Android app will not work on an ioS device. Similarly, a smartphone app will not work on a tablet or vice versa. So that a website can support all possible apps, a website will usual need multiple apps. This increases programming time as well as cost. However, a responsive design is designed to flex to fit different devices and runs in a regular web browser. Hence it works on virtually all devices.
- Since an app, or even multiple apps, have to be programmed separately vis-a-vis a website, they require separate information management, as they generally contain information that has to be managed separately. Hence, the website operators either have to duplicate their content creation and management efforts, or create a sophisticated technical system, so that they can keep all the information up to date.
Even then, all the information for the website many not fit into an app. In the case of responsive design, the information only has to be entered once on the website. This design will automatically fit itself on all devices that the users will use in order to browse the website.
Why go in for responsive
Today, responsive is fast becoming the right option for supporting your website on different types of devices. However, many people still argue that serious customers till use desktop computers to surf websites. However, the recent trends indicate that mobile web browsing makes up nearly a third of all web traffic. Having said that, the percentage of web traffic grew 35% from 2013 to 2014 according to reputed sources. People also read about 8 Practical Tips for Implementing Responsive Design.
Hence, it is for sure that users are going to use their mobile devices more and more to browse websites. These visitors actually are potential customers. So, it is really important for eCommerce website users to understand that they would not want to give a terrible experience to a third of their users if they want to use a device of their choice.
Further more, the mobile traffic is a smaller percentage of their overall traffic, and even a very small percentage of their conversions. This is one of the prime reasons why some merchants are hesitant to make a jump to responsive design. However, by giving visitors a good browsing experience to visitors, eCommerce merchants move into a whole new territory of untapped opportunity, wherein they can unlock a large category of mobile device sales. With the massive proliferation of devices out there, you need to be ready for all types of customers – and the one single answer for this conundrum is responsive web design.
For many eCommerce Web-store owners, responsive design presents a great deal of promise that will unlock a large wave of sales. Many owners put off the development of a responsive website due to its expensiveness, especially when it came to the Magento Platform. However, with the increase in the web traffic, many eCommerce merchants believe that it is the right time to go responsive with their Magento Stores. We will be able to help you develop the right Responsive Magento Web Design for your eCommerce online business. Get in touch Now!
Table of Content
Subscribe with Us!
Never miss any post, stay tuned!
Shivi Rao is a content marketer with Krish. She has worked in various industries spanning technology, science, rural marketing, startups & unicorns, eCommerce business, and digital marketing, believing that content is the foundation to facilitate the visibility of any organization and ensuring her words do the same. In her free time, you can either find her lifting weights in the gym or feeding the strays.
Recommended Reading:
Mobile Marketing in eCommerce
10 March, 2023 Customers are commanding a different experience. It hinges on mobile. The device is not the future of marketing, it’s the present. Today, the customer journey often begins and ends on a smartphone. So, as a marketer, it’s your job to engage with your customers on their choice of device. Marketers can’t ignore the surge in M-Commerce, as consumers command an experience that rests on mobile optimization. Brands need to prioritize the mobile marketing in their eCommerce strategies.
Subscribe with Us!
Never miss any post, stay tuned!
Trusted by leading brands
