Welcome summer with a new site design!

As I was sorting through my closet, storing winter clothes and breaking out the summer outfits… I had to laugh. Small Business owners should feel the same way about their site design as I do about the clothes in my closet. Out with the over-sized, heavy stuff… in with the minimalistic, lighter things in preparation for a HOT summer.

While the clothes I wear have everything to do with the seasonal weather, in a lot of ways, so does the design of a successful small business web site. There are a lot of hand held devices being used more this time of year, as people come out of hibernation and bring their internet connections with them! The popularity of the iPad, iPod Touch, and cell phones with web access should be considered when designing your site. (Remember that I’m in Upstate NY, so good weather is something we wait a long time for!)

A quick loading site is always important for visitor satisfaction, obviously… but when your site is being accessed through WiFi on a beach, it’s absolutely necessary! Consider dumping the bloated graphics, updating your scripts, and actually using a wireless device to view your site. Will summer surfers be able to find what they need on your site quickly, or will they leave your site in frustration? What provisions have you made for WAP surfers?

If you’ve never heard of “WAP“, or haven’t even considered what today’s tech savvy surfers are seeing when surfing your site on their wireless devices, contact me for a consultation… or check out some of the links below for more information. I’ll be concentrating on updating current client sites when I’m not out on our Harley-Davidson enjoying some of the long awaited warm weather… in all my re-discovered summer clothes, of course!

WAP and WordPress related links:

• WordPress Mobile Edition – a plugin that shows an interface designed for a mobile device when visitors come to your site on a mobile device. Mobile browsers are automatically detected, the list of mobile browsers can be customized on the settings page.
• WordPress Mobile Pack – The WordPress Mobile Pack is a complete toolkit to help mobilize your WordPress site and blog. It includes a mobile switcher to select themes based on the type of user that is visiting the site, a selection of mobile themes, extra widgets, device adaptation and a mobile administration panel to allow users to edit the site or write new posts when out and about.

Let me know if you’re interested in redesigning your site for summer… lighter graphics, minimalistic design and updated scripts and plug-ins including WAP integration. If there’s interest, perhaps I’ll run a customized design sale

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