Now that you have your website updated (see my previous article “Website Up Keep”) to the current time period and perfected to your liking; the next step is to develop a mobile version of your site. A mobile version of your website is utilized because many websites just don’t have the same effect on a visitor if they’re viewing the site on a 4.5″ screen, as I have on my iPhone, or even a 9.5″ screen that I have on my iPad. Creating a mobile version of a website that is already in existence is beneficial for the Company because it can allow users to get access to information at anytime, anywhere. It frees visitors from the restrictions of finding an internet connection while they’re on the go. It is estimated that one-third of humans have access to the Internet through a mobile device, that is more than twice the number of humans that have Internet connection through a personal computer. And with the portability and speed of tablets, that number is only going to get higher within the next five years. Another great feature of a mobile website is the option visitors have to take advantage of the mobile device’s capabilities. For example, clicking on a phone number will call the Company directly, clicking on an email address will allow the user to send an email directly to the Company, or even clicking on the address will add it to their address book or allow them to navigate directly to that location from wherever they are.
The idea of making a mobile website is not to adapt the main website to be better suited for visitors from mobile devices, but to create a second website that visitors accessing the site from a mobile device automatically get redirected to. The mobile website needs to be user-friendly, simple and straightforward. Because you are restricted in the sense that you cannot change the physical design and size of the phone, you have to get creative when choosing what is going to be on the site. Let’s face it, many of the links, images and information on your main website you can do without. Try and pick a few important links, images, and pieces of information that someone accessing the site from a mobile device need to see to get an idea of what your Company is about and what sets you apart from the rest. If the visitor of the site is really interested in your business, chances are they’ll revisit your site when they’re sitting down at a desktop computer, so you really shouldn’t be too concerned about fitting every bit of information in the mobile site.
Symbian, Android, Blackberry, Windows, iOS and webOS are by far the most commonly used Operating Systems on smart phones used by a majority of the population today. The combination of these Mobile Operating Systems make up 96% of the market share. That is an incredible amount of users for such a minimal number of Operating Systems. It may be hard to face but adaptation will have to occur sooner or later, so why not do your best to stay ahead of the curve and ahead of the other businesses. Our era is all about social, open communication; quite frankly it has become the norm, so produce a website that fits neatly into that category.
