Small business web design is becoming increasingly getting more complex. The key reasons for this complexity is not just demanding consumers- it is also a serious technical issue as browsers have multiplied. This, unfortunately, has been driving the costs of web design higher for small business owners.
In the early 2000s, Internet Explorer ruled the browser market. As a result, small business web design- typically a low cost, simple web design, was focused on compatibility with one browser, Internet Explorer. Since then, two things have happened to drive up the cost of internet development.
1. Multiplicity of browsers: Web design at the turn of the century had to contend with one browser. That kept the testing time of the overall design process low and websites simple. Small Biz Express- a small business web design firm -says now they have to design and test for:
A) Various versions of Internet Explorer - with IE6 often being problematic B) Various versions of Mozilla Firefox C) Apple's Safari D) Opera E) Google Chrome
This pushes up both design time as well as testing time increasing the cost for owners.
2. Growth of mobile devices Increasingly consumers are using their smart phones to browse the web. The option for business owners is to create another version of the website or at least ensure that the current site is at least readable on mobile devices. The recent Apple decision not to support Flash on both iPad and iPhone is a very big deal- it now means that small business owners may have to think twice before using Flash technology for animation or videos on their website if they want their websites to be visible on mobile devices.
All in all, consumers have more choices, technology standards are multiplying and this is pushing up the cost of design and development. For owners who are budget constrained, this creates a bind. More and more of their customers are online making it impossible for them not to have an online presence. But small business website design costs (and complexity) have been increasing making it much more difficult for business owners especially in these recessionary times.
