There is plenty of information out there but I thought I would just be succinct and sum it all up for you small businesses and new start-ups out there.
I imagine that when starting up you have had a conversation with a bank manager:
BM: How to you get your products or services seen in the marketplace, do you have a web site?
You: I used to when I started up real small, just testing the water back in 2005 but I didn’t get much if any work from it.
BM: Well times have changed now
You: Please explain
BM: Well back then, and it’s only a few years ago, the only people who used the web for finding products and services, were those who were not only an owner of a desktop PC, but had the time and the skills to use it, and even then, if they were not playing games they may have come across your web site, but it was still a small proportion of the population.
You: So what’s changed
BM: Now, people have found new ways to the internet, a way that is convenient for them while they are on the move. Mobile is the way forward. A few years ago mobile phones were for calling and texting, nowadays, just about everyone who has a phone, has a smart phone and also access to the internet.
You: What’s the solution for me then.
BM: Well your old web site is probably not much use when viewed on a mobile (have you ever came across a web site where the text and images are tiny and you have to constantly zoom in and out and scroll around while viewing on your smart phone?) – so you have to get one that thinks ‘Mobile First’ – it will also be superb on a tablet and a desktop, so you are not marginalising any of your potential customers. Nowadays a huge percentage of the population is online on their mobile while at work, on the bus, or even on holiday, something they couldn’t do before when the PC was at home.
You may have had a conversation like that with someone, maybe a bank manager and I can help you get a web site that can be viewed by anyone, it’s called a responsive web site that adapts to whatever device someone views it on.
Now your audience is practically everyone all of a sudden – that’s potential!