Blazers Unveil New "Responsive Design" Website For Desktops, Tablets, Mobile

The Portland Trail Blazers announced on Thursday that they have unveiled a new "responsive design" version of Blazers.com that standardizes the viewing experience across computer desktops, tablets and mobile devices.

Mobile was a huge focus for the new digital team, which began with the Blazers towards the end of the 2012-13 season, and this marks a big step towards their goals of improved usability and functionality.

In the release announcing the update, shown below, the Blazers included some interesting stats about changing usage patterns among NBA fans while also touting some of their mobile successes from the past season.

I was checking out the updated site on various platforms and came across this 2003 Wayne Thompson essay titled, "BlazerMania is Born." Thompson relives the 1977 Finals with some great details. Give it a read -- or a re-read if you've seen it before.

During the 2013-14 regular season, mobile and tablet site visits accounted for more than 60 percent of total visits to NBA digital platforms, influencing the rollout of responsive designs. The NBA will become the first professional sports league with leaguewide responsive team websites. More than half of the NBA's teams have already made the transition.

"As our fans and industry increasingly place more emphasis on mobile consumption, our redesigned sites will best position us to serve our content across all platforms," said Christina Miller, senior vice president and general manager of NBA Digital. "We're proud to be the first league to offer team sites with fully responsive design. These sites offer each team the flexibility to customize and engage their individual fan bases in a dynamic way."

Among the 30 NBA teams, the Trail Blazers ranked No. 1 in mobile time spent on site and No. 1 in growth of mobile page views during the 2013-14 season.

"There's clearly been a sweeping trend towards mobile, and the users visiting our website are a prime example of that," said Dewayne Hankins, Trail Blazers Vice President of Marketing and Digital. "The NBA's leaguewide change to responsive design sites will enhance the experience for fans visiting via mobile without jeopardizing desktop users."

New site features include a highly visible display with video prominently displayed on the home page, an enhanced photo gallery and a curated feed of the most relevant social media posts. The Trail Blazers team site also remains the most secure online access point for fans purchasing season tickets for the upcoming 2014-15 season.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter