Getting Responsive: Let's talk about Responsive Design

IndoWill's new website is being completed as you read this.  The contact form has been completed, and its functionality is being tested its functionality.

We're still working on the responsive design aspect.  What is responsive design you ask?   It's a relatively new concept of designing a website while ensuring it shows up best regardless of screen size.  

This came up in response to the demand of users of wanting to browse the web not only from their computers.  Today, your audience view your websites through a multitude of devices.  Websites are no longer viewed using a desktop computer or  laptops, but through mobile devices, like Apple iPhones, iPad, and any other smart phones and tablets..        

Speaking of Apple iPhone and iPads, these newer devices may look like it has a small screen, but it has what Apple is calling a Retina display.  These retina display. has much greater pixel density than normal displays.   What it means is, it allows the display to cram more detail per small area, allowing it to produce much sharper images than regular displays - the images are so sharp that a human eye cannot see the pixelation.

Why is this important? Sharper displays is great news, right? Who doesn't want sharper, brighter, and clearer images?   However this presents a new challenge for web designers.  Now smaller screen like for an iPhone, which is about  480 "pixels" wide and  320 pixels tall, is actually not so.  The new retina display packs roughly 10 times a much pixel in what used to be 1 regular pixel.  The new iPhone 5 / 4S, measured in inches,    1 inch of screen size now contains 336 pixels, when it used to contain much less.  That means the screen may look small, but the actual resolution is comparable to a larger monitor screen, packed into a tiny screen.

Back to responsive design, a well designed website will need to provide a good readable interface regardless of the screen size.  Now we add the complexity of retina display into the mix. 

If You Are Not Online, You Are Missing Out!

Here is a simple fact:  We look for information on the internet all the time.

We search for ways to make our lives easier, learn to do things, looking for directions, read the news, watch videos, and much more.

We used to only search on the computer.  With smartphones, and tablets, now we search for things everywhere, all the time.

We search during our commute, when waiting for people, while relaxing, while working out.

By the end of 2012, the vastly emerging market in Asia has over 1 billion internet users.  Europe is at 500 million, and North America at about 270 million.

That is a lot of people, and the numbers are not slowing down.

If you are a small business owner, and your business is NOT on the internet, you are missing out on a lot of potential business.

If you already have a website, you have to ask the following questions: Is your website easy for your users to use?  Does it clearly state what your business is about? Does it deliver what you want to deliver to your customer?

The truth is, your website is a reflection of you and your business. A well designed, easy-to-use site can be the difference between a potential customer contacting you, or going to your competitors.


Source:
1. Internet World Stats - http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm