Simon & Schuster, which has been redesigning the homepages on its Web sites, announced that it is now in the final phase of what has been a roll-out process. Soon, the publisher said, it will have updated versions of its Web sites in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K.

With the changes, the new sites will, among other things, be optimized for viewing on different screen sizes; have new, and "bolder," graphic elements; and feature new book and author pages.

One reason for the redesign, S&S said, was to address the growing use of Web browsing via mobile devices. Ellie Hirschhorn, executive v-p and chief digital officer at S&S, said: "In 2012 just 11% of traffic to our site came through mobile devices. One year later mobile represents 26% of traffic and the rate of growth is accelerating. Our goal is to provide easy and direct access to the most relevant information to our readers wherever they are and on whatever device they are using, and responsive design allows us to accomplish that."