Measuring 3,000 private school websites in our report, (August 2014), uncovered lots of interesting statistics about website navigation and design.

But one stat, in particular, answered a question that I think many of us were curious about:

With the rise of mobile devices, how are private school websites adapting? More specifically, are they offering an option built on responsive web design (RWD)?

(Wondering about the ? Check out this .)

Our research revealed that 22% of private schools sites (August 2014) utilized responsive web design — meaning their designs responded to whatever device was accessing it — mobile, tablet or desktop.

We took another look at this group in early 2015 and saw a 9% jump to 31%. Here we are a year later, and I think it’s fair to assume another significant leap in RWD adoption.

Here’s the takeaway — schools understand that they need to display their content in the best possible way across all devices, both in front of and behind the password.

Just imagine a parent visiting the admission section of a non-RWD site via their phone? What kind of an impression does that leave?

But have you ever wondered about the origins of responsive design and how it became a standard in such a short time? Who had the foresight to see the need for a better, more flexible way to display web content across the ever increasing range of devices?

Joining me to talk about the birth and rise of responsive design is the man who founded the concept, . Ethan is a designer, developer, author, and host in Boston, MA, who unveiled the idea of responsive web design in in May 2010.

From that simple post, a more flexible approach to design has been adopted by a huge range of sites including the Boston Globe, Time Magazine, CNN, Starbucks, and of course 31% of all private school sites! His approach has redefined the way we all interact with websites today.