Responding to the changing face of usership

Once it was enough to build a simple website with HTML, include some basic details about the business and its products or services, and throw in an email or other contact information. Now it's nearly essential that companies have a visually catchy, CSS- or similarly-cached site with compatibility across a half dozen browsers and on different devices. Knowing what someone wants may be difficult for a business to pinpoint, but determining how the information will be viewed is getting easier.

Smart website design should focus not only on a standard internet page, therefore, but also a mobile website design that can be reformatted quickly in order to be viewed comfortably on e-readers, tablets and smartphones. As more people turn to these devices on a regular basis and adopt them instead of old-fashioned PCs and laptops, businesses need to meet the range of user requests that will inevitably flood their servers.

Reacting to requests

There are dozens of different browsers and platforms that will regularly interact with a site. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Apple's Opera all function on somewhat different formatting and programming basics, so a frameset that caches correctly in Explorer may look completely wrong in Firefox and not load at all in Chrome. Opera users will have difficulty viewing Flash-based content, throwing another wrench in the website design works.

It's possible to write sites specifically for each of these viewers, but there are better options too, as Google stated that it will now support responsive web pages. These are scalable solutions that automatically reformat themselves depending on the requesting program in order to be viewable on any device or browser. They don't require that much additional work to create or maintain, making them the perfect tool for businesses seeking an inclusive solution rather than individual designs for web and mobile.

"You have to take every experience into account when designing a website in order for it to have maximum impact," said Sherry Santamaria, product manager of web solutions for Deluxe for Business. "Whether it's an individual internet page and a unique mobile website, or an all-inclusive design, or even a solution for just one class of devices, making sure it works for the maximum number of viewers will ensure better conversion for companies overall."

Playing the host

Companies have found that using responsive website design has made them more competitive in the internet sphere, and that solution could make it easier for other businesses to get online if they've been holding back. Tracking how consumers look at sites and interact with content is easier when every one of them is able to successfully view an organization's information, as unsuccessful loads could create shorter average visits and lower clicks on embedded links.

"We noticed a growing percentage of our website traffic was originating from mobile devices," Stacey Bennett of J Vineyards and Winery of Russian River Valley told North Bay Business Journal. She told the source that having a responsive site and a capable website hosting service helped the business manage this shift and maintain a positive online presence from every viewable device.

Other businesses have also seen changes in client habits and moved to accommodate these needs. If you'd like to learn 3 tips in 3 minutes on how to improve your website design, call 800.437.1239 for useful information that could change your customers' online experience for the better.

 

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