Tag: Web Design

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Is Your Website Like a VHS Tape?

Take off your "rose-colored glasses"!
Take off your “rose-colored glasses”!

Sure, you remember VHS tapes, don’t you? Even my teens remember watching Pokémon video tapes from the library. But try to find a VHS tape for sale at the store or even a VHS player and you’re simply out of luck. This is exactly where some websites will be in the very near future.

I recently spoke to a client about a responsive website redesign and his comment was “it looks good to me on my phone”. Another said “as long as I can see it on my iPad and desktop, I’m fine.” What both don’t realize is that they should not be designing for their own technology use, but for Google and the world. So the question to ask now is, “Is your website like a VHS tape?”

Here are the questions you should ask yourself:

1. Am I planning for the future? If I do not upgrade my website this next year will browsers and smartphones still be able to see my site? Will my site appear broken for those users?

2. Will my site still be found in the search indexes if I do not upgrade my technology? Google has already stated that it will be filtering out of the mobile search space after April 21, 2015 websites that are not mobile-friendly. Where will your site place in one year? How about two years?

3. How much of my current traffic is from smartphones and tablets. If it is over 50% and I do not have a mobile friendly site, how will users find me?

4. If I advertise on Google AdWords and my website is not mobile-friendly will Google stop showing my ads to this important and growing market?

It makes perfect sense to do nothing with your old website if you are retiring this next year, but if you are still counting on your website to bring in leads and traffic now and in the future, you would be wise to be moving forward by moving to  a new responsive website. Don’t look at your website from your own technology considerations. it is time to take off your rose-colored glasses and see your website the way others AND Google see it.

 

 

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An Update on My Predictions for 2015

Thumbs Up
What has already come to pass?

Well, I was right when I predicted what would happen in 2015 back on December 22, 2014… well at least for several items so far. You can read my full set of predictions for 2015 in this December blog post.

I predicted these things would be hot for 2015 and some are coming to pass right now:

1. The Mobile Web and Google
My prediction: This whole next year expect to see more activity from Google in regards to refining how websites are ranked based on mobile friendliness. If you at the minimum do not have a DudaMobile website to turn you not so friendly mobile site into one that Google will like, now’s the time to make that move. Better yet is to invest in rebuilding your website using a responsive design which will serve you better in the long run.

Update:
Google announced this past month that on 4-21-15 they will drop website listings from their mobile search index that are not Google approved “mobile friendly”. What came out this month as well is that Google does not have a separate mobile index and so appears to simply be massaging data to return mobile results. The next big question will be – will not having a mobile friendly site affect my regular desktop and tablet results on Google.com. On that issue, I am not prepared to make a prediction just yet.

2. Mobile Pay Will Be Hot
My prediction: As all merchants will need to upgrade their swipe terminals to accept the new SIM card personal identifier in credit cards, I predict that there will be greater use of mobile payments with Apple Pay and Softcard.

Update:
I have been vindicated that Mobile Pay or Contactless Pay as it is known is very hot. In fact, Softcard was purchased in March by Google and the technology is being rolled into Google Wallet. I expect to see a much bigger push on Google Wallet this next year. Apple Pay has rolled out and more users are embracing tapping their smartphone to pay at checkout. This is a growing trend and one I expect to see even more announcements come out as the year goes on.

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How Do I Fix my Mobile Problem for Google?

Man having an idea!
Need Help Fixing Your Mobile Issue with Google?

If you have received a notice from Google that your website is not mobile friendly and yet you do not have the budget right now to rebuild your website AND you don’t want to lose traffic after 4-21-15, what can you do?

There are a few services available that will scan your existing site and allow you to drag and drop files in their editor to make a responsive website. Even web hosts have gotten into the action with website templates that are integrated into their hosting platforms.

Although these simplified templates do not allow for a rich, interactive, and custom site, they are good alternatives that are relatively easy albeit fairly time consuming to work with.

Some sites that you may want to check out if you are a do it yourselfer are: DudaMobile – has mobile friendly as well as responsive designs WIX – just be careful of the design as not all are really responsive. Shopify has some nice designs to consider Webflow is even a consideration.

Of course if you want greater control over your design and content, or simply do not have enough time to do this yourself, we have a very nice turnkey program for responsive websites for you to check out and try out online.

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Received the Google Mobile Notice – How Do I Fix It

Image of a responsive website on multiple devices.
Make sure you set the viewport for your site to display it properly on multiple devices.

If you have received the Google notice that your website is not mobile friendly and yet you do not have the budget right now to rebuild your website AND you don’t want to have your traffic lowered because of the issue, what can you do?

There are a few services available that will scan your existing site and allow you to drag and drop files in their editor to make a responsive website. Even web hosts have gotten into the action with website templates that are integrated into their hosting platforms.

Although these simplified templates do not allow for a rich, interactive, and custom site, they are good alternatives that are relatively easy albeit fairly time consuming to work with.

Some sites that you may want to check out if you are a do it yourselfer are:

DudaMobile – has mobile friendly as well as responsive designs

WIX – just be careful of the design as not all are really responsive

Shopify has some nice designs to consider

Webflow is even a consideration.

Of course if you want greater control over your design and content, or simply do not have enough time to do this yourself, we have a very nice turnkey program for responsive websites for you to check out and try out online.