Obinna Morton — December 29, 2017 You’re doing well. Your company is swimming, metaphorically speaking, like an Olympian, a gold medaling Olympian, and you know your company is performing well because your product or services helped this particular client get more business.
“Wow, thanks,” you respond emphatically.
“Just one thing though,” the client says. “Your website doesn’t show up properly on my phone. I’d like to add you to my site, but only after you get that fixed. Let me know when you do, and I’ll be sure to add you to my website.”
Has this ever happened to you? Well whether you relate to this scenario or not, the one takeaway should be the importance of a website with a responsive theme.
What is a responsive theme, and why is it important?
A responsive theme is a website theme that adjusts to different devices and screen sizes. So if you or another person has designed your website on a desktop computer, if it was developed with a theme that is responsive, it will also translate similarly to fit a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or notebook as well.
“Now that the biggest search engine in the world, Google, has changed its SEO algorithm to rank responsive websites higher, it’s more important than ever for your site to be mobile-friendly, says Howard Tang, Business Analyst with Atlanta-based PegasusCRM, which recently updated its web platform to a responsive theme.
The benefit is straightforward. You reach more people because in 2016, Internet is accessible not just on desktops and laptops—there are smartphones, tablets, and notebooks as well.
A whole new generation of people also exist whose first cell phone was one that included Internet, and as the times change, you don’t want your business to run the risk of not updating and becoming obsolete.
I remember it like (December 31, 2017), for example, scouring the aisles of Blockbuster Video to find a DVD to watch over a holiday weekend—do I want Horror, Action, or Romantic Comedy? Well, let’s just say that Blockbuster was ousted by the Queen of On-Demand, Netflix.
And Netflix may not be any more immune than Blockbuster when it comes to adapting. Who knows what the future holds for Netflix, and what challenges the company might encounter in order to stay relevant and competitive? Let’s just say that adaptation is always the new black—it never goes out of style.
Adapting one’s website to an interface that can be viewed from any device or screen is one way that businesses will have to adapt—if they haven’t already—to the many ways that people access the Internet.
Smartphones, an Awakened Force
According to the trade publication Mobile Commerce Daily, in 2015, more than $ 1 trillion in sales were “influenced” by mobile devices.
During last year’s holiday season, nearly 70% of customers for Amazon shopped using a mobile device.
Google now includes mobile compatibility to rank sites.
So the use of mobile phones is prevalent enough that it has influenced a money amount with twelve zeros, and also how well a website will rank on a Google search. The conclusion that can therefore be drawn from this information is that the smartphone is a force that can influence a company’s profitability.
Given this data, your website might already have been viewed via a smartphone, or might soon be. It is therefore critical for entrepreneurs and small business owners to adjust to this trend by making their website readily available in the correct format across all Internet-enabled platforms. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with a potential client, no matter how he or she chooses to access your site.
To return to the Olympics reference, don’t miss the opportunity to run your personal best, and pay attention to the details, the same ones that can mean the difference in an athlete who places first, or, from the perspective of a champion, in any other place other than #1.
Responsive Themes Keep Your Company’s Image Consistent
In addition to giving entrepreneurs and business owners the ability to reach more people across different platforms, a responsive website also maintains a consistent brand image across platforms. Without a website that translates well from smartphone to tablet to laptop, you run the risk of alienating individuals who may have been interested in learning more about your company, but no longer are interested because your website didn’t load properly on his or her tablet.
How Does a Website Become Responsive?
It will differ depending on whether you designed the website yourself, or if someone designed it for you.
If you designed the site yourself using a web-hosting site, this site might carry responsive themes. As I’ve noted in my first post, I use Weebly, and updated my website using one of their responsive themes—it took only a few hours (less time than expected).
Check to make sure that the site that hosts your website includes these types of themes, and if you’re in the early stages, you are ahead of the game because you have the opportunity to start out on the right foot, rather than adjust later. Either way works though—iterating, or adjusting until you reach your desired result, is to be respected too.
If your site is being designed by a web developer, then speak with him or her to make sure that your site is being designed to translate well on tablet, smartphone, desktop, and laptop, on any screen size.
“Don’t just copy and paste old content to your new responsive site. Take the time to update pictures and wording to allow your SEO to increase based off of web-crawling algorithms,” notes Howard Tang, Business Analyst with Atlanta-based PegasusCRM.
While we can’t all be virtuoso gymnasts, or world-class sprinters, mid and long-distance runners, swimmers, or divers, we can still go for the gold as entrepreneurs. And that means sticking our landings with a responsive theme, one that translates well on any device, from smartphone to desktop to tablet.
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