Meredith Corp. home and gardening magazine Better Homes and Gardens has redesigned its Web site with a mobile-first attitude after research showed a spike in mobile usage.

After BHG.com data showed that 50 percent of users access the Web site through mobile, it was clear the magazine needed to go mobile-first. The redesign features mobile responsive technology, social media integration and native mobile advertising for a less intrusive consumer experience, but with more ad visibility. 

"BHG.com has seen a huge growth in mobile usage on the site, with mobile visits nearly doubling since last year," said Lory Stewart, digital manager at Better Homes and Gardens. "In fact, over 50 percent of our users are now entering the site through their mobile devices. 

"The refreshed site was designed from a mobile-first perspective to ensure that no matter what device a user may be entering BHG.com from, they are going to get a great experience," she said. "Mobile and social media are extremely important to BHG.com.  

"With more than half of our users entering the site through their mobile devices, social networks are now one of our top sources of traffic. With the refresh, we have added new modules that enable users to more easily share content through their various social platforms.

Better Homes and Gardens engages viewers through highly visual content, which fueled the decision to turn mobile responsive as this helps ensures its content will be viewed best on a variety of devices. Responsive Web design employs technology that adjusts Web pages based on ratios and units unique to each device to ensure the best viewing quality on all devices.

Native advertising and video ads coincide with this idea and will create a better aesthetic experience for mobile users, as well as serve relevant content to consumers. 

The redesign of the site also introduces social media integration for users to share BHG.com content seamlessly. Strategically placed modules offers readers the ability to instantly share articles and content through Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram. 

The Web site of Better Homes and Gardens boasts an average of 9 million unique monthly visitors, and focuses on generating maximum engagement through any platforms necessary that appeals to consumers. That is why this redesign is vital to its operation. Resisting against mobile migration can be detrimental for a brand, especially for BHG.com, as its content is centered around visuals. 

Readers will now be able to access the site with higher speed capabilities and more accurate design placement. Better Homes and Gardens want to reach consumers with as much content as it can. Leveraging a mobile experience that users can navigate quickly with ease can make that goal more likely. 

This is an example of traditional magazine flooding to mobile in an effort to increase traffic. Publishers are now seeking high traffic numbers, and it is becoming increasingly clear that mobile is driving these numbers. 

Many experts vary on opinions regarding mobile responsiveness, but to many it is a highly beneficial strategy for keeping and gaining users. 

According to a study from Waggener Edstrom Communications, in the Asia-Pacific region where social media applications are preferred, a marketer?s first priority should be having a mobile-responsive Web site, showing that effective content is a cocktail of geography, platform, industry and device (see more). 

Also, new research conducted since Google?s mobile-friendly requirements went into effect in April shows that marketers without a big smartphone audience are being impacted, as even desktop rankings take a hit when a site is not responsive (see more). 

"Our goal with the redesign is to create a modern platform that showcases BHG?s rich imagery, delivers fresh content daily, and allows for seamless content discovery," Ms. Stewart said. "We have also created a more robust environment for advertising opportunities, with integrated placements around native content, video and overall increased ad visibility."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer