Businesses Ignoring Touch Devices, says Foresite

Two thirds of UK businesses have no idea how their websites function on touch-screen devices such as the iPad and iPhone, according to a LinkedIn poll commissioned by user experience firm Foresite. Of the 103 UK company directors who answered the survey, only 32 per cent had tested if or how their websites worked on the devices.

“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,” says Foresite managing director, Barnaby Moffat. “Organisations who view their websites as sales portals should now be considering touch interaction.”

Foresite notes that with 50m iPhones in circulation and iPad sales having topped 3m worldwide in its first two months on sale, not to mention all the other touch devices out there, touch-screen technology is becoming increasingly relevant to businesses.

“Using the iPad to interact with a web page makes you think in a different way,” says Moffatt. “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 demographic.”