There’s a new website in town

Usually we post about music, but we’re so excited about having launched our latest Web project that we just can’t resist showing it to you.  Just in case you didn’t know, in addition to publishing gimmesound and producing concerts, Vickie and I also design and build websites (see a list of some of them here, but remember, we’re too busy to update our own website, which was built in 1998) and we do Web and social media marketing.

Yesterday, we finished a new website for one of our favorite new local stores, The Cave.  This is different from all other websites we’ve built.  It’s a “responsive design”, which means it optimizes the viewing experience on what ever device you’re using: desktop computer, tablet or phone.  For example, here’s what it looks like on a desktop computer:

Here’s what it looks like on my Samsung Galaxy III held portrait (the way you talk on the phone).

Notice the menu system is completely different and the top heading is centered instead of flush-left.  The Facebook plugin is off the screen in this picture, but you can scroll down to it.  Everything is stacked nicely so you can easily find it on a phone.

If you tap the phone number at the top-right it will call the The Cave.

The photo is different too, but that’s because it’s a slideshow and a different photo was showing when I took this picture.  (This is actually a little more than you’ll see all at once on a phone, but I wanted to give you an idea of how it looks below the photo.)

There are many reasons why you want a website in a responsive design.  Most importantly, you want your site to be easy to use no matter what device you’re on.  And you don’t want to build a completely different site for each device.

This site uses the EXACT SAME HTML CODE for the phone display you see on the right as we do for the desktop version, above.  The difference in how it looks is controlled by one little file called CSS.

This helps your website rise to the top of Google search results and it also makes it easier when you need to change something (like your store hours).  You only have to write content once and maintain it in one place.

Here’s what it looks like when I turn my phone sideways.

Check out The Cave’s new website on all of your devices and see how it looks.

Be sure to go down there on Tuesday and try some of their excellent cheeses and other delicacies.  You’ll be glad you discovered this gem in the heart of Gloucester’s thriving downtown.