When starting an online store, you want it to be accessible to everyone. You make every effort to develop the right language on the site so it speaks to the people who will purchase from you. You make sure the products on your site are going to sell. However, if you don't have a responsive site, then you’re alienating one of the biggest markets in the world. People who utilize their iPads and iPhones to shop through online stores get frustrated enough not to make a purchase when the site cannot be seen or interacted with through these mobile devices. By creating a responsive online store, everyone can see the site regardless of what device they’re using to access it.
What a Responsive Site is and Why You Need It
At its core, according to Creative Bloq, a responsive website adapts its layout to the size of the viewport for any device. This means the site will have a slightly different look from the desktop to the iPad to the iPhone. All versions are fully functional, because they’re the same site. The only difference is how they’re going to be seen. Certain things like tabs at the top of the screen in a desktop format will be converted into a list in the mobile formats, but other than that everything remains on the screen in augmented formats. Let's say you’re trying to start a jewellery store online. If you utilize responsive design in the overall design of your website, people can just as easily shop at home as they can while eating lunch at a diner. This allows you to capture your audience wherever they are. Even if someone looking at the site while eating lunch doesn’t purchase mid-bite, there's a better likelihood the site will be kept and referenced later when it is time to make the purchase.
All of Your Competition is Already Using Responsive Design
Responsive design has been popular for websites ever since 2011. The Boston Globe is noted as being one of the first sites to employ this kind of design when they launched the digital version of the publication on BostonGlobe.com. This means that if you don't create a website that can be viewed on the iPhone or iPad as easily as on a desktop, your competition will. Buyers will simply go to the site they can use easier and enjoy a better user experience. As you think about how to start a jewellery store online, make sure you consider that losing just one sale to your competition can cost you hundreds to thousands of dollars. This is not a loss you can incur even once, let alone on a regular basis. If you don't develop a responsive design into your site, you’re literally handing your competition the advantage. Luckily, even if you already have a site, it can be altered to be responsive, but it is much easier to simply build responsive design into your site as you’re building it.
Make Your Customers Feel at Home
The longer you can get people to stay on your site, the more likely it is you’re going to make a sale. Responsive design is integral to keeping people on your site. Part of what helps your visitors to feel at home is fluid grids and fluid images. Part of the flexible design, utilizing these makes it possible for your website to seamlessly adjust to the screen size being used. Regardless of whether visitors are using a large desktop or an iPhone, they will enjoy the same experience. Images are resized without losing quality and grids are narrowed or shortened depending on the flexible design model you’re using. Even switching from landscape to horizon mode on your mobile device alters the look of the page, so your visitors can enjoy the site even as they adjust how they’re relaxing.
Easier Navigation Makes a Difference
The ease by which your visitors can navigate through the site is one of the most important aspects of design. Responsive design is all about making the website easier to navigate. As mentioned above, tabs on a desktop screen will be converted into a list format, but still available regardless of where on the page you are, or which of the pages you travel to. This allows you to have instant navigation tools whether you’re on a home computer or out and about on your iPad. This is just one example of fluid navigation tools to assist with getting around the site. Grids and other navigation components are worked into most pages to make sure you always have something on the screen you can utilize to get around on the site. Keep these in mind as you’re developing your online store and you’re going to have very happy customers which leads to profitability and growth.
This article, Why Your Online Store Needs to Utilize Responsive Design, was originally published at simonblog.com.
The post Why Your Online Store Needs to Utilize Responsive Design appeared first on The iPhone and iPad Blog by Simon.
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