With more than 2.1 billion mobile broadband subscribers as potential customers, making sure your website is designed to meet the ever-evolving needs is critical.

According to research illustrated by whoishostingthis in the infographic below, people are becoming increasingly frustrated with sites that don’t display correctly.

For example, 74% of mobile visitors will abandon a site if it takes more than five seconds to download.

Why is responsive web design important?

Responsive web design is about providing the optimal user experience irrespective of whether they use a desktop computer, a smartphone, a tablet or a smart-TV.

E-commerce platforms in particular have seen the impact that progressive and forward-thinking responsive design can have on a company and its growth.

It’s about keeping the features visitors want and none of the things they don’t. The ‘less is more’ approach is more relevant than ever with responsive design, with little room for heavy graphics, confusing navigation or pages locked into desktop-only resolutions.

So if your company hasn't yet considered using responsive web design, you will most likely be losing visitors who are browsing your website from a smartphone (and many will be).

Therefore, it is essential to restructure your website to be device friendly and optimized to meet this technology which is always in a rapid usage increase.

What do I need for responsive web design?

If you are selling products or services online it is especially critical to make sure you have these five elements:

• a masthead
• an image gallery
• product descriptions
• auxiliary information
• and a footer

What are the guidelines and techniques for responsive web design?

For details on how to get responsive web design right, check out the infographic below: