Responsive Content – Why It Matters

Look around you right now, and chances are most people are looking at the smartphone screen. Granted, they are likely playing Pokémon Go, but still!

In the US today, 68% of adults own a smartphone and 45% own a tablet device (up from just 3% in 2010)*. Even more interestingly, smartphone ownership is up to 86% in 18-29 year olds.

A content strategy that does not explicitly address mobile devices will have limited success in today’s environment. As a typical user, I have some basic minimum expectations when it comes to digital content:

• Content has to be tailored to my favorite device. Don’t make me switch devices just to access your content
• But if I do choose to continue reading on any of my other devices (I own 3+), I need to do so easily
• I have several potential distractions, so the content needs to be engaging and hold my attention

Designing content and making it responsive from the get go will ensure that you provide a superior user experience to most of your target audience. No more forcing readers to read through a long PDF on the 5 inch smartphone screen, and certainly no more pages with run-over text overlapping images.

What is responsive content? Simply put, content and layout that automatically adjust to the viewing device and user environment. That means video, images, interactivities and text sizes, all appropriately places and sized to give the user the best possible viewing, reading and interactive experience.