Static Website Design

The website text, images and other elements stay the same size no matter what device the website is being viewed in or how large the browser window is. This is the most basic and common type of website programming and does not take into account preferred user interaction and/or optimization. A viewer of your website can become frustrated when trying to access your website using mobile web browsing devices such as iPads or iPhones, as they do not allow the user to view the website in the easiest way possible. This is the “old” way of doing things.

Mobile Website Design

Mobile Website Design refers to the practice of designing a website so that it will appear on mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads in the most elegant way possible for that screen size and user style of interaction. For instance, if a viewer of your website is going to look at your website on an iPhone, you want the buttons and links to appear large enough to accommodate the average size of a user fingertip, rather than the average size of a link on a regular website. Take a look at the video below for an illustration of this concept:

Oprahs website takes work to click a link. Rather than Twitter site, easy to click button (m.twitter.com)

Responsive Website Design

Responsive Web Design refers to having a website designed and programmed specifically so that the information on the website such as images and text appears differently depending on the size of the window it is being viewed in. So, if you’re just on your desktop computer, and you are viewing the website in say, the Internet Explorer browser, the website will change appearance depending on how large you have chosen to size the window. See the video below for an illustration of this concept.

Responsive and Mobile Website Hybrid

The responsive and mobile website hybrid refers to having a website designed and programmed specifically so that the information appears differently depending on the size of the window it is being viewed in AND the type of device it is being viewed on. You can think of the website as having intelligence. The website you want to view first asks, “What device is the user viewing this website on?” If it detects a mobile web browser such as an iPhone, it will switch to the actual mobile version of the website, with optimized buttons and layout for user eyes and fingers. If it detects a regular browser window on a desktop or laptop computer, then it asks, “What size is the browser window?” The website layout will then change layout of the page depending on the size of the window.

So Now That You Know All This, What Should You Do Now?

The best thing you’ve done for your company today is reading this article. It’s important to stay ahead of the curve, or at least be aware that there is this curve, when it comes to your presence online. If you do anything, take steps now to at least implement a mobile website. If you don’t cater to shifting Internet trends, you will be stuck with late 90’s technology in an early 2010’s world. Everyone knows that technology moves so fast it’s practically impossible to keep up, so talk it over with the decision-makers in your company and jump on the mobile and responsive website design bandwagon – your customer activity will show you their appreciation.

Let us give you a free website analysis to determine the best course of action to get you on the mobile and responsive website bandwagon.

Statistics on Texting and Driving

A texting while driving study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that, “Text messaging made the risk of crash or near-crash event 23.2 times as high as non-distracted driving” while driving heavy vehicles or trucks. The same study purports that:

“A real key to significantly improving safety is keeping your eyes on the road. In contrast, “cognitively intense” tasks such as emotional conversations, or listening to books-on-tape, can have a measurable effect in the laboratory, but the actual driving risks are much lower in comparison.”

A study by Clemson University said that, “Text messaging and using iPods caused drivers to leave their lanes 10 percent more often.”

Does Siri Make Texting Safer?

On the topic of hands-free cellphone use, the risk comes with the actions of dialing, searching for contacts and any other behavior that causes a driver to take their eyes off the road or interact with a phone physically. That being said, the new voice activated Siri technology available in the latest iPhone 4S could be a step closer to proving more safety. With Siri, the press of a button allows you to direct the phone to complete simple tasks like searching for something on Google, or dictating and sending an entire text message. However, according to San Jose Police Spokesman Jose Garcia from a CBS Local San Francisco article on texting and driving, “Siri is, in essence, a speaker phone which is legal. But if a driver touches the phone or looks at the directions on the screen, then it becomes a violation of the state’s hands-free cellphone law.”

Teens and Texting and Driving

The texting and driving statistics are a bit more dramatic in the teen population. According to a Nielsen study, the average teen using a mobile device will send and receive approximately 2,899 text messages per month. And according to a study conducted by AAA and Seventeen Magazine, 61% of teens admit to risky driving habits. And among those, 46% admit to texting while driving.  That’s over 28% of the teen population!

Take a look at this texting while driving bans map shown below, found on the IIHS website. The map shows that text messaging is currently banned in 35 states in the US. 7 states have a partial ban, meaning usually that only novice/young drivers carry the restriction and 7 other states have no ban whatsoever.

So there are the facts; now you be the judge. Has texting while driving affected your life personally? Do you think it’s a big problem that should be legally enforced or is it something that can be controlled on an individual basis with enough education?

Statistics About Mobile Web Browsing

Recent data published by leading digital stats reporter Comscore tells us that mobile web browsing reached an all-time record high during the last quarter of 2011. Some 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. That’s over 75% of the US population! And of these folks, 97.9 million owned smartphones, representing a whopping 40 percent of all mobile subscribers!

Put simply, more than 3 out of every 4 Americans uses a mobile device. And roughly 3 out of every 10 Americans have a smartphone that is capable of surfing the Internet. The fun part is thinking ahead to what it will be like in the future; say the year 2020, where we could imagine statistics that are more like “9 out of 10 Americans have 2 or more devices – attached to their eyeballs!”

Of folks with a mobile phone, close to 75% use them for text messaging. Almost 48% of users downloaded and used applications on their phones. Applications are tiny programs that you use on your phone to make tasks easier – like using Facebook or even checking your bank account numbers. Following this upward trend, mobile banking access is up 74% from where it was last year.

Why You Should Consider a Mobile Website for Your Company

What do these mobile web browsing statistics have to do with you? Well, if you’re part of a company that has a presence online, this means that others might be trying to find information about your company not just on a standard computer, but from a mobile internet browsing device like an iPad or iPhone. What you need in order to secure a place in this market, is mobile application development. You need a custom web application that makes it easy for your customer to view your website on their mobile device!

Don’t Lose Customers by Staying Ahead of the Game

Because if it’s very difficult to get your company’s information in this easy format, then chances are the searcher will just abandon their attempt to get info about you at that point – potentially abandoning a sale or inquiry just because your site is not easy to navigate. For an online retailer, this could mean a lot of business lost; that you possibly didn’t even know was looking for you!

Take action to make sure that your website is optimized for viewing on these mobile devices. This means you’ll need to have someone program your website to respond and look differently depending on the device a user is looking at. Stay tuned for a blog post coming up soon that tells you why you need to know the difference between responsive and mobile-optimized web sites!