What The Rising Use of Mobile Users Mean For Web Designers

  Looking at the user stats for our school site, it is apparent that the number of mobile users are increasing. While the majority of users visit on a desktop, the amount of mobile users have continued to increasingly surpass the amount of tablet users. This is probably due to the ease and accessibility to mobile devices. Every time I step out of the house or my car, I make sure I have my phone. Anytime I go to lunch I make sure I have my phone. Right before I go to bed I - yep, check my phone. Last week I went to a restaurant and they even recommended we use our phones to order our food. This is helpful to web designers, as it is now more important to make sure websites are responsive and have mobile friendly navigation.

  An important stat to focus on is how long mobile users stay on the site compared to non-mobile users. The bounce rate for mobile users continues to be the largest, almost 15% from the 2014 stats. In contradiction the amount of time a mobile user spends on the site continues to be the smallest. Compared to desktop users, mobile users stay on the site for almost half the amount of time. This is important for web designers to pay attention to, as mobile users aren't just perusing the site - they are looking for a specific, quick piece of information. This indicted that the mobile, responsive designs of websites must be clean and easy to navigate.

New and Improved

Last week's assignment was to improve and add to our blog. I typically lean towards more minimalist design, but the last layout of my blog was a bit to minimal. I didn't really have any color and my banner didn't reflect my aesthetic. The first change I made was I created a new header. I knew I wanted it to be my own photo, so I had a "mini shoot" when I shot potential photos I could use for a header. I also added some color and enlarged my nav bar.

Other changes I made include adding a background and labeling my posts. Labeling my posts will keep them a bit more organized and easy to find. I was unsure about adding a background, but I think it pairs well with my banner and the feel of my blog. 

The last couple changes I made were adding some code to get my Instagram to show up in my side bar and adding a portfolio link. I had a portfolio link in my nav bar before, but it hadn't been updated for a while. I also updated my bio and photo.