With the ever increasing rise in smartphone ownership (over 50% now in the UK), having a website which looks good and performs well on mobile devices is now imperative. However, time should be taken when choosing how you adapt your website for mobile users to ensure you get as much out of the platform as possible.

There are three possibilities open to businesses when choosing how to deliver a mobile site.

The 3 options

Tailored Landing Page

An ideal choice for smaller business that do not have the time or money to spend on a fully functional mobile website.  Users are taken to page which functions correctly on mobile and is often used as a lead generation platform or utilising the click-to-call functionality of the device.

Transcoded Mobile Site

A good interim solution for companies that know they need a mobile site but at present do not have the time/money to commit.  A transcoded mobile site will reformat a standard website to make it more usable on mobile devices.

Full Mobile Site

The most desirable option of the 3.  A full mobile site will allow businesses to create the best possible experience for their users which works across all platforms and devices.  The upshot of having a mobile site is increased brand advocacy and increased conversion rates.  Of course, this comes at a price though, but it is usually worth the cost in the long run.

But what about an app?

Apps are great.  They provide us with something we want all from a click of a button.  Many businesses have created apps which have been downloaded by millions of users and been great revenue generators. However, for every app that is successful, there are many more which aren’t, for the simple reason that apps needs to be amazing for them to succeed.  If they are not, people may download them, but they certainly won’t use them many times.

A mobile website doesn’t have to be award-winning to be a success.  It just needs to do what the user wants it to.  So unless you have a large budget, team of experts and most importantly, a fantastic idea - steer clear of the app route for now and concentrate on creating a great mobile site.

It’s not too late to be early

Did you know that 59% of businesses within the UK do not have a mobile optimised website?  Well you do now - and more importantly you know that there is still the opportunity to steal a march on your competitors and create a mobile site which takes some of their market share.  After all, in a recent study, 40% of mobile users said they would leave for a competitor site if a company mobile website they were on gave them a disappointing experience.

10 tips for mobile websites

1. Keep it quick

This applies to both load time and interaction - It may sound obvious but it is often overlooked. Mobile users are young and impatient - if what they want doesn’t load within 2-3 seconds they are much more likely to leave a site.

2. Simplify Navigation

With a smaller screen it is fairly obvious that the simpler the navigation, the more likely the potential customer will be able to use the site how it was intended. Including a search box on every page is often a good way of ensuring a user never gets lost.

3. Be thumb friendly

People use their thumbs to navigate around mobile websites and as such it’s important to create sites which thumbs can easily master. Understanding the difference in people is also important - for example, placing buttons on the centre of the page will ensure that both right and left handed users are catered for

4. Design for visibility

Animate buttons, create contrast between background and text, avoid sun glare and use lots of white space. All these simple tweaks can make a big difference to the end user.

5. Accessibility

It’s important that everyone can use the mobile site and that it conforms to accessibility guidelines. As well as being a legal requirement, accessible websites also ensure potential revenue streams are always open. Using HTML5 for animation and adapting mobile sites for vertical and horizontal layouts are simple measures which can make a big difference.

6. Make it easy to convert

It may seem that mobile site creation is more about making the compromise between functionality, design and usability, but there are advantages of users coming to your site via mobile devices as opposed to desktops. The obvious one is the fact that many mobile devices are also telephones and so integrating click to call functionality will often reap rewards. Keeping all forms fields simple can also increase the chances of conversion. Including checkboxes and HTML5 validation on web forms can help make them easy to fill in from a user perspective.

7. Keep it local 

33% of searches have local intent such as looking for a store locator. As such, ensure that users can find individual stores and display local content as much as possible.

8. Make it seamless between mobile and desktop

Whilst a businesses website on a mobile device may look considerably different to the desktop version, it is still important to ensure the branding of the website and experience of the user remains consistent.

9. Mobile site redirects

A simple, but often overlooked aspect of mobile websites is allowing the user to visit the full desktop version of the website if they wish to. Whilst the mobile version is designed to make life easier for mobile users, there will always be users which prefer to visit the version they are used to. An even more overlooked point is once a user has decided to view the full site on their mobile device they should also be given the opportunity to return to the mobile version!

10. Learn

So, the mobile site is live and converting well - job done! Well, not quite. Using tools such as the mobile segmentation from Google Analytics will allow companies to learn what is working, what isn’t and improve the site accordingly. Mobile technology is also ever-changing. The companies which keep up to date with these changes are far more likely to ensure they are consistently delivering a mobile experience which their customers demand.

Any examples of great mobile sites?

Yes, lots.  Have a play with these on your smartphone and see how easy to use and quick to load these sites are.

Seatwave - seatwave.com

ASOS - m.asos.com

Ebookers - ebookers.com

Kiddicare - kiddicare.com

ScrewFix - screwfix.com

Autotrader - autotrader.com

Summary

Creating a mobile version of a website can often seem like an expense, in both time and cost, that can wait for another day.  However, investing in a dedicated mobile site can often be a step which delivers instant returns from a revenue, consumer experience and branding perspective.

Mobile is not going to go away, and will in fact grow considerably in 2012 and beyond.  By embracing the opportunities that this platform provides as early as possible will ensure businesses maximise their revenue streams and steal a march on their competitors.