Okay maybe that title is a bit dramatic, but it still poses a good question. Do you need a mobile version of your website?
In short, the answer is maybe…. I guess I should clarify. You may not need a mobile website, yet. But if the numbers are telling us the right story you most certainly are going to need one soon.
As we move into the second decade of the millennium, more and more people are accessing the web using their handheld mobile devices. And remember, with the popularity of tablets this does not necessarily mean a smart phone. But, one thing remains the same for all of them, they want different information then your desktop visitors and they want it quickly, as in right now!
Think of your mobiles site as being the excerpt that relates to your desktop version. Only the most important, succinct information should be included. We want it lightweight, fast and mobile layout ready.
Mobile layout ready???
Mobile devices are .. well mobile, which means that they are easily portable. In other words small. There is not a lot of screen real estate to deal with so we have to make sure we show only the most important information, at least the most important information to the mobile user. Remember, mobile users are rarely surfing, they usually have a specific goal in mind; to find a piece of information, download an app, or get contact information.
Mobile Design
With smaller screen sizes and big fat fingers, comes a fair amount of design requirements. There is not a lot of room for “bling” on a mobile site so we have to accept a less is more approach. This does not mean that we simply display content without any concern for design, on contrary the small real estate and important information create their own set of design problems.
Here are a few to keep in mind
- Side to side scrolling is not enjoyable on a mobile device. Instead a top down approach has been adopted
- Buttons and anchor text need to be large enough to actually touch
- Images need to be “mobile friendly” not only for download speeds, but for readability. A large picture with small details will lose a lot of detail on a small screen
- Navigation items- with the introduction of the super drop down, it has become common practice to have many links in the navigation. Can you get it down to the 3- 5 most important.
- Landscape vs Portrait view. Most mobile devices will allow for content to be stretched when the phone is rotated, this is a design concern that cannot be ignored.
Summary
As we stated earlier, we don’t believe that the web is at a point where a mobile site is a necessity, although we are definitely close. Only you can decide if your customers are missing out with their mobile experience on your website. If your customers are opening your site on their mobile device, and receiving the wrong information, in the wrong order, with a elongated load time, then it is entirely possible that you are presenting the wrong brand perception .
So do you need a mobile website…..