Two thirds of UK businesses have no idea how their websites function on touch-screen devices such as Apple's iPad and iPhone, according to a LinkedIn poll commissioned by Foresite.
From the 103 UK company directors who answered the survey, fewer than a third - just 32 per cent - had tested websites on devices such as the iPad.
iPod/iPhone > News
Mon, 12 Jul 2010 LinkedIn poll: Businesses undervalue Apple iPad, iPhone
Foresite predicts websites will need to adapt to embrace touch-screen and mobile devices
Nick Spence
Two thirds of UK businesses have no idea how their websites function on touch-screen devices such as Apple's iPad and iPhone, according to a LinkedIn poll commissioned by Foresite.
From the 103 UK company directors who answered the survey, fewer than a third - just 32 per cent - had tested websites on devices such as the iPad.
"The iPad is not the first device to use touch screen technology, but it is the first to bring it into the mainstream and will no doubt change the way companies approach web design. Organisations who view their websites as sales portals should now be considering touch interaction," said Barnaby Moffat, Managing Director of Foresite.
Moffat predicts websites will need to adapt to embrace touch-screen and mobile devices. In June, Apple announced it had sold 3 million iPads in just 80 days.
"Using the iPad to interact with a web page, makes you think in a different way. Rather than the usual point and click of a mouse, intuition prompts you to browse, scroll, push, pull, pinch, flip, and twist your way around a website. Users will navigate differently."
“At some point, your clients, customers and other audiences will interact with your site - and therefore your brand - through touch. At the very least, you need to make sure the touch experience with your site isn’t a bad one. Businesses should start exploring the opportunities so they don’t get left behind and can appeal to this rapidly-expanding, mobile e-commerce demographic," added Moffat.
Foresite is a creative digital development agency set up in 1997 by brothers Barnaby and Branwell Moffat. The company works with clients such as Office Shoes, E-Skills, LexisNexis and BBC Gateway to build websites that aim to engage users and improve brand interaction.
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