Note from Nick: This is a guest post from Anne Dorko, who builds amazing WordPress themes, like her newest Anatomy Theme. If you’d like a chance (or a bunch of chances!) to win a copy of the theme, read through the post and you’ll see the contest rules at the bottom!
As a writer, you are probably also a reader.
As a reader, you know from personal experience that readers want access to their content any time and anywhere at their wanton whims.
You have readers of your own (or at least you plan on having some very soon). It only makes sense that you should provide such an opportunity and experience for your readers on your own online platform: Your blog.
If you haven’t heard of the term “responsive design” yet, you should really listen up. Even if you have, it’s time to understand why responsive design is so important and can no longer be ignored.
Understanding Responsive Design
Okay, so what is responsive design?
Responsive design is the new slang that functionally means “It looks good on any platform.”
Technically, it means that it’s optimized to look great at any size — from the desktop, to your top readers’ shiny new tablet, to the latest and greatest smart phones.
To make it simple, you can simulate what each environment looks like by resizing your desktop’s browser window while viewing a responsive design. Typically there are four sizes it is optimized for: Desktop, Tablet, Portrait Landscape, Portrait Mobile. Some neat examples of responsive design include Smashing Magazine and Chris Brogan’s websites.
The beauty of responsive design is that you don’t have to have a specific website just for your mobile readers. Design & branding remains consistent, while the experience gets tweaked nicely for the reader no matter where they’re visiting from.
Your Readers are Mobile
It’s not something we like to admit, but sometimes you’re stuck in the bathroom when inspiration strikes… so out comes the smart phone (or tablet, if you’re that kind of prepared) and you start taking furious notes and Googling your facts.
Maybe it’s not something as lofty as inspiration, and it’s just a good time to catch up on your blog feeds.
But it’s not just porcelain time you’re on your phone either. It’s every time you’ve been waiting on someone while they were trying on clothes at the mall. It’s when you Googled for reviews of that new gadget you’ve got your eye on while riding the bus home. It’s that time you pulled out your tablet and did some market research while sitting in the waiting room at the doctor.
Your readers are human. They’re doing all of that, too, and probably more.
The State of Mobile Content Today
Think about every “mobile” website that redirected you back to the homepage when you clicked on the article instead of loading the article you wanted. Think about every “mobile” app that you had to download if you wanted to access that website from your phone.
Really think of all the websites that have lost your readership because you couldn’t control the page in such a way to access the content you needed from your phone.
For some reason you view it as acceptable, even though those are some of the most frustrating moments. You really want to see what those pages said, but you’re really not going to put up with it, so you try and find your information somewhere else.
Imagine, to your horror, the number of readers you are losing right now because you aren’t prepared to adequately serve your content on a mobile platform — readers who really want to read what you have to say.
According to ReachLocal, the typical mobile user is on their phone 2 hours a day. 49% of them are using their browsers during that time. When you combine that information with smartphone user statistics, that’s an average of 113.5 million hours per day spent browsing the internet on mobile — and that’s not even including tablet users.
In 2013, that number will likely be at least 134.8 million hours. Again, that’s per day, not per year.
That’s more than a quarter of the United States on their phones, 134.8 million hours every day this year. Most Americans would rather give up alcohol and chocolate than their phones.
Tablets are catching up too. Thirty percent of the population owns one.
It’s estimated that by 2016 (only four years away — just short of the infamous and commonly used 5-year business plan), searches made on mobile will overtake searches made from the PC interface.
So why are we all so ill-prepared to handle content coming in from these users? Why do we think this is acceptable?
Engage Your Readers, Before It’s Too Late
Responsive design isn’t just a fad — it’s our first real response to greet our mobile readers with open arms. In the future, there may be a better solution, but right now it’s the new standard.
If you’re using WordPress as your content management system and blogging software, you really have no excuse not to get on board with responsive design.
The WordPress community has an abundance of responsive themes that have cropped up as the concept of responsive design has proved to be more than just a passing phase. It’s still a new age for responsive, however, and not every theme is going to have what you’re looking for.
As Simple As Pressing A Button?
Purchasing a quality responsive theme, installing and activating it is often just the beginning of a tangled web of optimization and confusing settings.
Before you run around buying all the responsive themes, you need to sit down and consider what your goals for your website and consequently, your theme, are.
Ideally, the theme you choose will reflect the following:
- Allow you to shift your focus to the content, rather than worrying about whether you know the best-practices for web design standards.
- Give you the flexibility to create custom pages (such as landing pages) without touching the code. This will probably include a combination of Page Templates and shortcodes.
- Provide you with the tools you need to create visual calls-to-action for your content. (Such as shortcodes for buttons or icons.)
- Focuses on providing you the options you need for high user engagement. Customizable theme messages are good to look for.
- Handles the technical information properly: Up to date HTML & CSS standards, fast-loading pages, and optimized database calls.
When it comes to responsive design, you want to think simple. Unless you have a big budget for a cutting edge design team, it’s better to stick to a theme that puts your content front-and-center without fancy frills. Fancy frills tend to get lost in the smaller sizes.
That leaves the rest of your site to make the content look as great as possible while providing the right information to your readers at the right times.
Statistic Resources:
- http://www.slideshare.net/ReachLocalPresentations/150-smartstatsonlinemarketingtrendseverybusinessneedstoknow
- http://www.statista.com/statistics/201182/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-the-us/
- http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2011/12/30/us-population-2012-nearly-313-million-people
Ready for the fun?
If you’d like a chance to win Anne’s new Anatomy Theme, just use the contest submission feature directly below this paragraph. The contest is run by Rafflecopter, and the entries are kept completely random via random.org. Also, you have more than one chance to win: there are 3 copies up for grabs, and there are numerous ways to enter (like tweeting every day). Again, just check out the contest below:
Great blog post! I really love your stuff, especially your books on Kindle! Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Jonah! Glad to hear it!
Just recently discovered your site. Great info. I’d love to learn more.
Awesome — looks like you’re signed up for the mailing list, so that’ll help keep you up-to-date! Also, be sure to check out the archives for older (yet still good) posts!
This sounds like fantastic app! I’m doing more & more on my phone and can see how this is essential. Thanks for us letting know about it.
It’s a theme, actually, but it will show up on mobile devices as well (similar to an app, I guess)!
Exactly what Nick said — this is actually a theme but helps your website load as if it were a web app on people’s phones. Glad you found this resourceful!!
Great information, that is one area I worry about and just don’t seem to make enough time to work on my online presence enough – thanks!
It’s one of those things that reminds us how constantly we could/should be working on it, but there’s also writing/researching/life to do as well!
Unless your whole business is online, the idea is to focus just enough time on your online stuff that you’re following the 80/20 rule: 80% of the results for 20% of the effort.
The great thing about platforms like WordPress is that they take the guesswork out of the details. All you have to learn is where to focus your attention for the best results. 🙂
I’m hoping that posts like this one help make that easier.
Yay! Pareto’s Principle! I love it!
My main benefit to having a home base online is having a place to express myself.
Hmm, interesting — that’s basically just a personal blog, it sounds like. I don’t disagree, but a Home Base can also be a great place to reach out to your readers and soon-to-be fans!
Oh, it is… I want to make more, but I keep struggling with direction.
I had a few delays in completing my home base, but I hope to go live soon. It will be my headquarters for everything else I do online.
Leave a link here, Lois, I’d love to check it out!
Having a home base online is important because my readers are online and when they want information on my books I want them to be able to find it.
Yes, most of our readers are online, but there are still many offline as well — how could your Home Base help reach them?
Word-of-mouth is becoming more and more word-of-mouse, and if you aren’t ready and able to harness that word-of-mouse by having a good online home base, then you’re losing millions of potential readers who otherwise wouldn’t ever hear of you.
I like that: “Word-of-mouse.” I hadn’t heard that before, but you’re exactly right!
I am scattered in a bunch of places online. A home base would allow me to finally have a home base (I know, it’s repetitive, I’m sorry). I could link to posts on the other blogs or post on the home base page. It would give me the heart to keep the whole online body flowing with lifeblood. I hope this makes sense – I’m not in the bathroom and am not feeling entirely inspired right now. *grin*
Good comment, Jennifer! Thanks for participating!
Haha, nice. Honestly, the reason you want to have your own website is that every time there’s a new Facebook, Twitter, ________ (you name it), your fans are already engaged with YOU on YOUR platform.
I agree — I’ve always called it a “Home Base” because no matter where else you are online, they should always point back “home”
Biggest benefit of having a home base is definitely having a central spot to coordinate all my social media. Or it would be if I knew what I was doing! Still learning every day.
I hear that! Thanks for commenting — good luck!
Having a home base helps me have a concrete evidence of my “cred”, so to say. It makes it easy to have somewhere to redirect people to.
Good stuff, Chihuahua.
Interesting.
Yes, yes it is.
Was looking at getting a wordpress theme, will be focusing on responsive themes now.
That’s awesome to hear!
Even if nobody were interested in the Anatomy theme, my goal is to help people who feel overwhelmed by the web and its options focus on the things that are most important. 🙂
I really believe responsive themes are the way to go — and right now you’ll stand out even more (in a positive way) since it’s still an “early adopter” idea.
Definitely — “responsive” isn’t a feature any more (or at least, it shouldn’t be) — it’s a requirement. Your visitors are surfing the web on their phones, iPads, etc., and you NEED to have a great-looking version just for those devices (I’m one to talk… I’m in-between mobile themes right now!)
This is very interesting. Clear and concise.
This is a great idea – I do a lot of research and just plain blog reading on my phone, and if a site gives me some cut rate mobi version that won’t let me navigate it simply, I’m outta there. Nice to know you’re developing something like this that just works, regardless of the platform.
Hey MP — good to see you over here again! I’ve read studies that show people are browsing on their mobile devices (even excluding tablets) more than ever — it’s important we keep that in mind whenever we build a site!
As a person who is just about to start her first book and also launch her business at the same time (her book is connected to her business) having a Home Base is so crucial for me to building my readers mailing list so that I can engage with my readers on “sneak previews “ of chapters, ask for opinions, reviews and their comments, share my news with them and promote my launch of my book. I will then have a my fans ready for my other book launches or courses etc who already know, like and trust me which makes them ready to buy from me again 🙂
Plus building a Home Base with all my own content I write in my own unique voice and character is a gold mine for building an Authority site also, as I will be regarded as an expert in my area and also I can have social media links or buttons on my website so that people can “ilke” and “share” my content with others further increasing my traffic to my website and increasing my popularity and expert status
I can also share my story which would relate to my readers before I launch my book describing who I am, what I have experienced and why I decided to write a book on the topic, this will get my readers to engage with me at personal level, I will be vulnerable and share my ups and downs so that they can see me as a real person.
Having a responsive design I had not thought of and now I would like one for sure, as having my readers being able to read my blog posts from their mobiles is a definite need.
Thanks so much for the blog entry, I have learnt something to day and I am excited to be on this journey 🙂
Hi Jane! Thanks for the awesome comment, and great ideas on the book/Home Base connections!
I can’t believe all of the big players out there who still insist on putting up non-responsive sites (particularly media companies, who should know better). Great post
Wow, I completely agree with that! So many sites (USPS, you’re on my radar right now!) are just flat-out terrible, no fun to navigate, and are FAR from responsive.
A great post on having a Home Base and being responsive to readers’ needs. nice point to drive the point of the article home — most people would choose a phone over chocolate or alcohol…..
Well said!
Well done! And a beautiful theme for sure. I’m just about to re-launch my home base. I thought I was set on my theme, but this one has me thinking that I may need to reconsider.
Many responsive themes don’t look *as* good in responsive mode. I think the simplicity and crispness of Anatomy works in its favor in that regard. Beautiful!
Thanks, Gary!
Great information. It’s about building a relationship…
It’s ALL about building relationships, but we need someplace to SEND people after they’ve been “relationshipped.” This theme is a great start…
Well done, finally some information that I can undertstand!
Thanks for this post!
No problem — thanks to Anne for writing it!
It allows me to have a central location for my platform.
True that — and it looks great, to boot!
Very nice theme. Very readable. This is a very portable, responsive theme. It might move me over to WordPress from Blogger…
It is VERY readable — definitely worth keeping around!
Thanks everyone for the entries! The contest is officially over, and I’ll be announcing the winners here on Monday! Stay tuned!
Just wondering if you pulled winners for the giveaway? My fingers were crossed.
I’ll be announcing the winners tomorrow via newsletter (as well as a personal email), so be sure you’re signed up there. Also, it should show up in the Rafflecopter box above automagically!