You may have heard the recent claims that “the web is dead,” with the browser-based online experience being supplanted by specialized Internet apps and mobile technology. We believe the reports of the web’s demise are greatly exaggerated. But it’s true that the web has to evolve to keep up with the new mobile world. With about 70% of the world’s population using mobile technology, smartphones are on track to outnumber Internet access via standard computers.
While apps play an important role in mobile, it’s worth remembering that the web itself remains accessible for the majority of mobile Internet devices. Even without having a mobile app, your company can build an excellent mobile presence through your site. The problem is that most web sites haven’t yet been optimized to be mobile-friendly.
Mobile Browsing Breakdowns
If you’ve browsed the web on a mobile device, you’ve probably found how it can be a frustrating experience. Text and navigation buttons are often too small, and your fingertips are too imprecise to hit your intended targets. You can zoom in and pan around to find what you need, but the screen resizes when you go to the next page. Flash animation and script coding may not work at all, and the concept of a hovering cursor and rollover effects does not exist in the touchscreen world.
On the other hand, you may have encountered some web sites that work great on your mobile device. Text and navigation buttons are at a usable size, and the overall user experience feels more like a mobile app instead of a squashed-down web site. These sites have been properly optimized for mobile.
Short Cuts to Optimization
One good thing about optimizing your site for mobile is that you don’t have to rebuild your existing site from scratch. Your standard site and mobile site can live side by side in the same place. A common best practice is establishing a sub-domain of your current site, such as mobile.yoursite.com or m.yoursite.com. Code inserted in your pages identifies when a visitor is browsing on a mobile device and automatically forwards them to the mobile-optimized version hosted in the sub-domain.
Simpler sites might be successfully optimized just by mirroring the main site’s pages using a different CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) file customized for mobile devices. This quick and easy solution cuts down the work involved with the prospect of building a whole new site, but many sites have complex features and usability considerations that will require more tinkering and refinement.
It’s a good idea to check for existing mobile plugins. The software that runs your site may already have mobile plugins or options available for developers. These kinds of features may satisfy your needs without requiring custom programming.
Rules of Thumb (and Forefinger)
As a general rule, buttons and links should be large enough for users to select with accuracy and avoid the “fat finger syndrome.” Images and graphics should be reduced to the bare essentials in the mobile version of your site. Copy also should be kept as brief as possible to avoid scrolling and keep messages clear at a glance. Unless a core function of your site for mobile users is viewing photos or accessing lengthy articles, cut down the images and words as much as possible.
Another important mobile consideration is making phone numbers linkable so that smartphones can place a call at a touch. It’s also a good practice to include the option to toggle between the mobile site and the standard site, in case your standard site has advanced features that a mobile user may be willing to trade ease of use in order to access.
While there may be numerous other factors involved in optimizing your particular web site for mobile, these are the basic considerations to keep in mind. It really doesn’t have to require a terrible effort to make your site easy and convenient for mobile users to access. But sooner rather than later, doing so will become an absolute necessity.