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Why risk going out of business in 2014

November 15, 2013

Why risk going out of business in 2014 – a responsive website design is a must for YOUR business

Is your business one of those who might be facing closure during 2014? Why you might ask…

Well, if your business isn’t taking advantage of responsive web design right now or planning on it in the very near future, you are running the risk of going out of business in the New Year.

There are however some exceptions to the rule….

1. You identified an alternative mobile strategy, because a responsive design is simply not the right fit for your business.

2. Your business activities are non-dependant on your website.

3. You have a monopoly without any competition/competitors.

If you are fortunate enough to say ‘yes’ to any one of the rules mentioned above, you are lucky indeed. Therefore please continue business as per usual.

On the other hand – if the survival of your business/company depends mainly on its website for generating business and in the event of you losing the business it brings; you will suffer a major setback. Then you will need to revisit your online marketing goals. Getting a responsive website design in the coming year should become your number 1 online marketing goal.

But what is this ‘responsive design’ business?

Have you ever used a smartphone for browsing and noticed that your favorite website is teeny-tiny on the screen? What do you do, zoom-in or keep on scrolling up/down and sideways just to be able to read the content or find the menu? If so, this is not a responsive design.

In short – a responsive web design adjusts gracefully to fit browsers on various devises – for example the internet browser on your tablet, smartphone and computer. Thus, your website will still ‘look good’ on mobile devises by adjusting itself automatically.

Some proclaimed the start of 2013 as the year of ‘responsive web design’. Does this mean it is too late in adopting? Certainly not – it is highly likely that your competitors are also fashionably late in joining the party. Most businesses normally lag behind by a year when it comes to the cutting edge of things relating to web design and online marketing. The early adopters have only started getting their acts together in 2013 in terms of responsive designs. Therefore you are still safe if you have not yet explored this avenue. Not for too long though, as your competitors are now figuring out these things.

Everyone else is doing it, so it must be better, right?

Let’s have a look at why responsive design is better….

When you think of your closest family, friends, colleagues and clients – how many of them have some sort of smartphone devise or at least who will consider a smart-devise the next time an upgrade is due? Perhaps 40%, 50%, 80% or even a 100%?

According to recent research conducted by Deloitte & Touche it is estimated that there are over 10 million active smartphones in South-Africa (Jun 2012) with a definite upward curve.

The same can be seen when you look closely to the media (printed adverts, TV adverts, radio etc). You will notice that as an alternative to smartphones, mobile service providers offer tablets instead of the conventional handset when upgrading a cellular contract. Even some of the major banking institutions offer you smartphones and tablets at a reduced rate.

A recent article has shown that tablet sales in South-Africa have increased by as much as 46% since the beginning of 2013. The International Data Corporation foresees the sales of tablets to surpass PC sales as soon as 2015.

The increased usage of mobile phones and/or tablets in day to day life is clear. Just think what happens when you are down at the local watering hole for a ‘business meeting’. Your topic of discussion suddenly yields a HUGE question mark. So, what do you do? Like clockwork everybody around the table is frantically asking uncle Google via their smartphone or iPad for the answer.

How can we make things more relevant to your company website?

If you have Google Analytics on your website you can compare the impact of mobile vs desktop users to your website by comparing the percentages of the past year to previous periods. The stats can be used to gauge how urgent the matter is for your website.

You can view a pie chart for the above mentioned statistics in Google Analytics by first selecting the past 12 months for your date range, and then on the left navigating to Audience à Mobile à Overview. A small pie chart button can be seen on the lower right. Click the button to see the pie chart.

Let’s for example say your site analysis indicates that around 45% of its traffic was from mobile devices during the past 12 months. This means that 45% of visitors received a sub-optimal experience when visiting your website. Having said that, it does however not show in which direction things are headed. Therefore you need to also compare it to preceding periods to get a better understanding of the actual trend.

If you notice a clear increase of X% per year it will be safe to say that you can expect another X% or higher increase in the coming 12 month period.

Do you now have a compelling enough reason to go responsive?

Cost associated with responsive design

Depending on the complexity of your current website design and age of the existing site/design you might need to look at a completely new design that is responsive. By redoing your website it is also a perfect opportunity to get rid of those features that never functioned properly or to add any additional features that you never got round to in the first place.

If you make use of a company ask them for a quote. Alternatively, New Beginnings are more than willing to conduct a free analysis of your site and provide a quote for converting it to a responsive website. Please click here to contact us.

Responsive is the Future for Mobile

By going responsive is not without its challenges for marketers and website owners, but without a website geared towards mobile devises, your online future seems dark and gloomy. Your customers will without a doubt abandon your website and go to the competitors site who offers them a mobile-friendly experience.

Responsive is the future for mobile. In the coming 12 months we will definitely see another increase in people who favors mobile devices over conventional desktop computers.

Don’t get left behind and opt for ‘responsive’ sooner, rather than later!