Latest research indicates nearly 50% of consumers use a mobile device as their primary internet access device, and this number is growing fast.  Some experts predict that by 2014, most web traffic will be on mobile devices.

Have you developed a mobile web strategy?  Can your customers view and interact with your website from their mobile device?  This is not a fad, you need to make your website mobile-friendly, or you risk losing potential customers.

We are advising all our clients to consider making their websites ‘mobile friendly’.  However, we appreciate that most websites built over the last 5-10 years were designed with only a desktop or laptop in mind.  When you view a typical business website on the browser of a mobile device, it is usually just a reduced version of the site, which can turn your customers away as they can’t view it or access it easily.

To overcome this, some companies are deploying one or more mobile-optimized web designs, or “themes,” that the web server sends to a user when a mobile device is detected. That’s a first step, but mobile devices come in many sizes and shapes. What looks great on an iPhone may look and perform poorly on a Kindle Fire.

 

It is possible to create designs for each of the major screen sizes and devices types, but ultimately that’s not cost or time effective as new devices and versions are being released regularly.

 

One solution is something called “responsive web design,” which can make your website easier and cheaper to manage, while giving mobile users a better experience. This allows you to create one design that will fit almost any screen and device type, and can also enhance your search visibility.

 

When a user accesses a responsively designed website, the site senses the constraints of that user’s device and automatically “responds” or reconfigures itself to display and function reasonably well. It re-organises the layout, for instance, swapping out images and navigation features.

Here’s a few things to consider before moving your site to a responsive design (thanks Entrepreneur, Sept 2012 for a concise summary):

Decide when to make the change.
It’s hard to introduce responsive design to an existing conventional website. A new website means considerations of cost, time and branding.  You’ll probably want to wait until you’re creating a new site or rebuilding your existing one.

 

Track your mobile traffic patterns.

Check your site statistics for the number of mobile visitors, plot how that segment of your online market has been growing and project it two to five years into the future. The steeper that growth curve, the more important it is to implement responsive web design sooner rather than later.

Check out competitors’ sites on various devices.
Keep a list of URLs for businesses similar to yours. Periodically check them all out on a variety of computers, smartphones and tablets. Which are easiest to navigate and use, requiring the least pinching, zooming and scrolling? Use the best as guidance for your designer.

 

Hire web designers with responsive design experience. 

Many designers serving small-to-medium business clients are still focused on designing sites intended for viewing on computers. Be sure to ask for recent examples of a designer’s responsively designed sites. Don’t just get screenshots — ask for the URLs and check those sites on a variety of device types, paying attention both to how they look and how well they function.

 

Use effective, affordable tools if you do it yourself. 

There are many pre-made responsive themes  (both free and paid, usually under £100) for sites built with WordPress.  Thehosted version of that platform, WordPress.com, is starting to offer responsive themes, as well.

 

We’re currently working with a number of clients to move them to mobile responsive sites.  Contact us if you?d like to talk about how you could make this change.