By Stacy Zemon
Today’s marketing savvy DJ business owner needs a website that works on a computer, a tablet, and a smartphone. This is called “Responsive Web Design.”
With prospects and clients increasingly viewing your website from a number of mobile devices (iOS, Android) and on various browsers (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox), it’s an important goal to achieve.
If you count your cost in time, responsive design is a little more expensive. If you count your cost in clients, it’s much, much cheaper. Responsive design lets you automatically approach clients from all kinds of places, on all kinds of devices.
Don’t Wait. Do it Now!
It’s much easier for you to convert your web presence now, while the number of devices is relatively small than get into it in a few years. Mobile devices are absolutely the future, and we DJ entrepreneurs need to be ready for it.
It will take considerable thought and time to design (or re-design) how your site will function across multiple formats and devices. However, using responsive web design to build one multipurpose site is much faster than building sites specific to a number of different devices.
The Design Challenges
It’s difficult to create a single website design that works for every device out there. There will be a degree of tweaking and iterations to work through before you create a great experience.
For example, the landscape-size photo you use on the website might need to be swapped out with a square image that’s suitable for a smartphone. Or you’ll want to replace the word “download” on a button with “learn more,” because mobile users won’t usually click on a download. Another: putting your website’s main subject categories (Home, Contact, etc.) across the top of your site works when viewed on a computer’s web browser, but not on a smartphone screen, where a vertical list is easier to read.
Do Your Homework
This is a complex and multi-layered issue. I found this tutorial from Smashing magazine that can give you a lot more information about it.
Once you feel properly educated on this subject, ask for proposals from at least three companies with expertise in responsive web design before shelling out your hard-earned money. Also, make sure you’re comparing “apples to apples” when evaluating proposals, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.