In years gone by you only had to think about how your website was viewed from a desktop and Internet Explorer. However, things began to change when other browsers started to appear because then you had to make sure that it was suitable for Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and so many others, but compared to how your website has to be viewed today even that was relatively easy. Now, it is not just different browsers, but you also have to make sure that your website can be viewed from desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablet computers and in some instances that can be an absolute headache.
Why things can be different.
There are several reasons as to why your website can be viewed differently depending on the device that is being used, but the main reasons include the size of screen altering the clarity as well as the power in the device and how it processes all of the information. When cell phones were first able to be connected to the Internet, remember the excitement of WAP, it took forever to download and view a website. This was because the processor in a cell phone was minuscule compared to that in a computer and that was why the mobile website extension was created and websites were stripped down to mainly include information and nothing else.
Even though the likes of smartphones and tablets are far more powerful today than ever before it is still important that the actual design of the website itself reflects the need for it to be displayed on different devices and not just a desktop or laptop. Failure to check this can have serious implications for your website and business.
What can go wrong?
A number of things can go wrong when your website is not compatible with different devices, but the main thing is that everything can be thrown out of order. Navigation bars can move, pages break, images move or vanish, and text can all be out of order. Your website can look completely chaotic and what kind of message are you then sending out to people that are faced with that when they land on your website? Surely it is pretty obvious as to why that just cannot be allowed to happen?
Why your website has to be viewable on these devices.
It should become immediately apparent as to why your website needs to be viewed on these devices. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people that have a mobile phone use it as their main way to search online and that is a huge market that just cannot be missed out. You will also be aware of the increase in popularity of tablet computers as you see people on them all over the place due to their portability as well as the increase in number of wi-fi hotspots.
This all adds up to a lot of people that you just cannot afford to ignore and you have to look at how they themselves would view you as a business if your website was not up to scratch. Quite simply, when they use their device to access your site they expect it to work smoothly and to provide them with the information that they are looking for. They understand that on cell phones the website is stripped back, but with advances in technology if your website does not work properly on these devices, then they are hardly going to spend any money with you are they?
Instead, they are going to view you as being lazy, not caring about your potential customers or clients, unable to keep up to date with technology, and there will be nothing positive about you as a business in their eyes. By simply not having your website working on every possible platform it can ultimately lead to you losing out on a lot of business and these people will just go to your competition allowing them to get stronger while you get weaker.
What you need to do.
If your website has not been updated for a number of years, then it is not going to be compatible for these different devices and you need to change it immediately. Modern designs are responsive, so they contain coding behind the scenes that change the site even just slightly in order to make sure that it can indeed be viewed on different devices without it having a negative impact on the viewing experience of the user.
The best thing that you can do is of course to check your website on a range of devices and see if it looks good or absolutely terrible. You are also best to get a professional web design company such as Webfoot Designs to take a look from a technical point of view and get a report as to what needs to be done to bring your website up to date. In some cases it only requires a series of slight changes to the design to make everything run more smoothly, but for some people a complete overhaul of their website is the only solution
Get some expert advice on what to do next and justify the cost by thinking about all of those people that do not use desktops or laptops to view your site and what they are thinking when they get there. Can you afford to potentially lose those customers?
Contact Webfoot Designs today to bring your website right up to date.
