If you’ve visited more than one website on your iPhone or other various smartphone, you can probably tell the difference between a responsive website and one that is not. How? Well, for starters if the site is easy to read on your smartphone, you are probably viewing a website built with a responsive design.

So, what is responsive design? As little as few years ago this term was, to say the least, on the design backburner. However, with the rise in popularity of smartphones and tablets alike in recent years, it’s a household word in the design community, so to speak.  Internet users accessing the web rose from 800 million in 2009 to roughly 1200 million in 2012 according to a recent ComScore Survey.  Statistics expect mobile internet usage to outnumber desktop internet usage by 2015.  The numbers don’t lie- if you don’t have a responsive website yet, you may want to think of changing soon.

Tablets are quickly replacing laptops and televisions – they’re lighter and easier to pack, making them more attractive for people on-the-go.

The top four ways consumers use tablets are:

   * Organizing recreational activities
   * Online shopping
   * Reading news or blogs
   * Social networking

Many people are familiar with the well-known concept of the sales funnel. Conceived over a hundred years ago, it still serves as a useful framework for understanding the decision-making process. You may be familiar with the sales funnel but are you familiar with AIDA?  The acronym "AIDA" stands for the stages that a person must pass through before buying something: attention, interest, desire, and action.

Times have changed and how we sell things has certainly changed. But when someone comes to your website, the principles still apply. Your visitors want to know "Do you have what I’m looking for?" and "Should I get it from you or someone else?" And in between, before being moved to action, they must be absolutely convinced that you have the right solution for their needs, and that you are a trustworthy company to deal with.