Survey: Only 56% of Small Business Websites Leverage Responsive Design

A survey published in April 2015 by Clutch has revealed that only 56 percent of small businesses have responsive, mobile-friendly websites despite the positive business results they could yield.

While the data shows that 10 percent are unlikely to build a responsive design website in the future, 17 percent said that they have plans in place to do so.

Garry Kanfer, of Big Drop Inc., said about the adoption of responsive design, “Everybody wants their site to be responsive due to the fact that, as of today, close to 35 percent to 40 percent of the visits come from mobile devices and tablets, which even a couple years ago was 20 percent. Since small businesses see an increase of visits from mobile and tablets, they understand that it’s mandatory for their site to be responsive.”

Additionally, Google recently released a new algorithm, ensuring that mobile-friendly websites receive a boost in ranking in mobile search results. While it does not apply to tablet search results, it will impact all mobile smartphone devices, according to Search Engine Land.

But how important is it to target the mobile device-using demographic in the Digital Age?

Mobile Device Usage Across the Board

A survey released by comScore in February 2015 revealed that three out of every four U.S. mobile subscribers aged 13 and older owned a smartphone in Q4 2014. About 88 percent of adults in the 25-34-age range and 18-24-range owned a smartphone.

However, it isn’t just the younger generations that are tapped into mobile devices – Baby Boomers use them as well. The percentage of 55-64-aged smartphone owners grew from 40 percent to 60 percent between January 2013 and December 2014. This data indicates that marketers may benefit from targeting more than one demographic while executing a mobile strategy.