Browse a computer store these days and chances are you’ll find something new. Yes, it is the new all-in-one touchscreen PC. A PC that only requires a single drive, that doesn’t require a mouse or keyboard (although you can use those too, if you want). If these machines become popular this Christmas and over the next year, they could alter the way we design and operate computer applications. Given the prominence of the touch screen, from the Nintendo DS to smartphones, iPads, sat navs and now the all-in-one PC, there is already a huge public appetite for the kind of interaction that the touch screen facilitates.
For many companies with websites, the touch screen could be crucial, as it enables a new type of interaction with the consumer. Customers will feel much closer to your business as your touch screens increase their sense of interaction. Users who virtually touch your products through real-life physical movement will feel a stronger connection between your products and themselves.
Web designers considering how their sites are viewed and accessed on touchscreen computers will need to consider a wide range of new issues:
• Bright Colors – Dirt transferred to the screen by fingers means that dark colors can become undesirable, as brighter colors help mask grease and grime.
• Switch things up: lefties surf the Internet too! Menus and buttons should be easily accessible for both left- and right-handed users.
• Size is Important: Nice big buttons make it easy to navigate your site. With big, clumsy fingers, a small menu can be quite cumbersome on a touchscreen PC.
• Quick and easy: One of the advantages of a touch screen is that it can be much faster. But in addition to making your site load fast, it needs to be easy to navigate.
• Hide cursor – No mouse means no cursor is needed. Users won’t lose track of where their fingers are, but they might miss a cursor. Why distract them from your site with extra features they don’t need?
• Design: how will users interact with your site? Remember, those clunky digits can get in the way and block some of your carefully crafted content.
• Don’t make it a marathon: Lots of large screen movements and mindless clicks can wear the user out and discourage them from staying on your site. Think carefully about how necessary each movement is and how to minimize arm fatigue.
These issues are, of course, just a drop in the bucket of what might be possible and what might need to be considered by the web designer of the future. However, that is not to say that we should forget the humble mouse user. Touch screens bring a whole new era of interactivity, and web designers will no doubt find amazing and innovative new ways to take advantage of this in the years to come. It will be particularly interesting to follow the ways in which companies use this in the marketing of their websites. Interactivity is already quickly becoming a major factor in online marketing, particularly via social media, but how touchscreen technology might influence that remains to be seen.