Responsive sites let you be seen with no action from the viewer
An article in this months Web Designer asks the future of RWD, responsive web design and interestingly enough draws threads of thought on user choice and casts a thin web of doubt on the hype of RWD. Then later in the same issue the CEO of Sellerdeck (previously Actinic) seems to draw similar threads but with a focus more on preparation.
The questions raised if they can be distilled are in my opinion;
1. Do smart phone users prefer to zoom in and out of a site or do they prefer a mobile friendly site without the need for zooming?
2. Are smart phone users looking at your website or Facebook, Twitter etc?
3. Are smart phone users making online transactions?
The direction of these distilled questions is, ‘is it worth having a ‘responsive web site’ over a more standard website with maybe a mobile version alongside?’
I think both the magazine’s editor and Benjamin Dyer of Sellerdeck are in full agreement that the influence of mobile devices is on the increase and that the use of these devices, including smart phones and tablets, for web search is more likely to increase than decrease.
Currently, especially for the small business, having a bespoke site designed for both Desktop & Laptop use, together with another mobile version of the same targeted at Smart Phones & Tablets may be pushing the web design budget to its upper limits whereas having a responsive design may and one domain may be a more comfortable fit for the budget.
But why should a business have a site that responds to all devices, should the user be able to make the choice of zooming into the tiny little web page displayed in their iPhone or Blackberry if they want to?
Ok, from a business point of view, a web page is pretty much the businesses online shop front regardless of whether or not they are an ecommerce site. Businesses display their wares/services and let the world, know about what they do, who they are etc.
You could see a website as an ‘advert’ for the business as well as a resource. If you are happy to look at a website in this way for a moment, then let me ask this question. With an advert, print or online for that matter, it’s first job is to capture your attention, commonly achieved with high contrast striking graphics and/or large easily read emotive headlines. Little chance of such having much effect on a webpage the size of a couple of postage stamps that need to be zoomed in and out of with the fingers. One quick zoom and your web pages call to action could be entirely lost to your potential customer.
Not the case with a page that has been designed to present itself in a smartphone window at easily readable size, with the appropriate message and business logo in clear view immediately. Not only will the user see the message and the logo, but anyone accidently looking over their shoulder on a crowded tube will also see the business logo.
From a marketing perspective it has to make more sense for a business to make sure they are easily seen on any device yes?
The rise of the smartphone, kicked off globally with the iPhone, looks set to continue. The convenience brought to the world with Google search is now even more convenient, it sits in our pockets or handbags while travelling. Now the hype of Responsive Web Design might be well ahead of the adoption curve, a line used by Benjamin Dyer that I rather like, but where would you rather have your business? I think you’ll likely want your business ahead of the curves rather lagging behind when your competitors are ahead and benefiting before you’ve had a chance to compete on the same playing field!
Is responsive Web Design here to stay? Yes
Will smartphone internet use increase? Yes
Will people use their smartphones to look for services and businesses? Yes
Last Sunday I sat at soft play in my local town of Romsey while my two boys were playing. On my left were a pair of young women, mid to late twenties and to my right a man who I would guess was late 30’s early 40’s and then there was me, the very nearly 50 year old! What did we all have in common except children and being at soft play? We where all using smartphones, we where all on the internet courtesy of the soft plays free Wifi access. The young ladies where both looking at travel agents sites and bouncing back to their Facebook pages sharing their thoughts with mates no doubt, looking for a holiday by the sound of their chat. The gentleman was searching the web, dipping in and out of sites, I couldn’t see the type of sites, I was to far away, but it was easy to see that some were tiny non responsive pages, some were larger device friendly sites, fewer of the latter however. I wouldn’t swear on it, but I would guess that he spend more time and was more interactive with the device friendly sites, maybe because he saw a headline that got his attention eh?
You might ask what I was doing and I would answer in all honesty that I was reviewing a device friendly site recently set live for a Cypriot client and looking at my Facebook page noting that all the Facebook content didn’t show and scrolling seemed to provide a limited experience.
It left me with the thought that device friendly sites should strive to provide as much the same experience and content as the desktop version although scrolling would be required. As band widths increase and devices continue to improve, developers will find this more acceptable from a page load perspective.
Is responsive web design a good idea for a business? Yes, be best seen across all devices where your potential customers do not have to do anything (like zoom with finger movements) to see your key heading and logo. People might say that current trends suggest smartphone users don’t engage in ecommerce via their phones and they might not. But hey, if they want to call your business then and there, you can make it much easier for them with a phone number that they just need to tap!
Be easily found, be easily seen, be easily contacted. Responsive web design ticks the last two of those boxes, the first might not be so beneficial without the other two eh?
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