This is the final in our series on Frost and Sullivan’s top seven predictions for digital media in 2013 and focuses on tablets, smart phones and how they will impact the digital media landscape.
According to Phil Harpur, senior research manager at the analyst firm, dedicates three of the seven predictions to mobile technology:
- The impact of tablets on the digital media market will accelerate
- Mobile search will grow strongly; and
- The integration of mobile advertising with other channels will increase.
The report predicts that smartphone penetration in Australia will rise from 41 per cent in 2012 to 65 per cent in 2017; that search engines such as Google will continue to invest significant amounts into improving mobile search functionality; and that the mobile advertising market in Australia will reach $177 million by 2017.
And with Australia already having the second highest percentage (after Singapore) of population owning mobile phone – and more than 70 per cent of these people using their phone to browse the internet – the most important lesson to take from this is that your website needs to be able to be found, and read, on a mobile device.
And the best way to do this is by investing in responsive web design.
Put simply, this means that your website is developed, designed and built using elements – such as fluid grids and flexible images – that make it adapt to different viewing platforms, which have different screen sizes and resolutions.
Responsive websites offer users similar experiences, no matter if they have access the site via a PC, laptop, tablet or mobile phone.
And the best thing about responsive design is that you will save money as you won’t need to build and maintain two separate websites – one for PCs and laptops and one for mobile devices.
Direct Sites Online specialises in responsive websites, so if you want your business to take advantage of the massive impact that smart phones and tablets will have on the digital media landscape, call us no on 02 9557 7623 or email info@directsitesonline.com.au.
