Your brand needs to begin thinking about their mobile strategy:
- How will you get from where you are now, to a fully-mobile friendly brand?
- What kind of timeline is your brand looking to achieve?
Before we discuss a mobile strategy, allow us to explain why your website needs to "kick it up a notch."
Why do I need a mobile web design?
The question many business professionals have is why they need a modified web design in order to adjust from desktop to mobile screens.
Simply put, the orientation of a mobile screen (phones are way smaller than a desktop) can leave people scrolling up-and-down and left-to-right and zooming in and out on content areas on your current website. The information you want visitors to have primary access to will be cumbersome for visitors to find while scrolling all over the place. A mobile-friendly design makes viewing your website easy on the eyes, whether desktop, tablet or cell phone.
In addition, a mobile website streamlines any processes on your site (say, a shopping cart or form) to be quickly and easily filled out. Again, making your site more user-friendly.
The goal of all of this is to make the experience of your website the best it can be, no matter the technology your visitors are using to come to your site.
What is responsive design?
A responsive design is a "parent" group of programming code, if you will. Once a parent group is created for your website, it can decide how and what content will be displayed depending on the venue. Then, according to how your site is accessed (whether desktop, tablet or cell phone) the "parent" tells the website how it will appear to your visitors--more content and features on larger screens, less content on smaller screens.
Still scratching your head? We found an infographic that will help to clear the way:
Does this mean a website redesign?
In order to achieve a responsive design, your site needs to be written in HTML5. However, if the look of your site has you smitten, rest assured that it can be the same or similar to what it currently is--taking into account the different viewing sizes of mobile tech.
In summary, the backbone of the site needs to be updated, but the look and feel can remain, if desired.
Hungry for more details about responsive web design? Check out these 50 examples of great responsive design.
