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Mobile Website in a Nutshell

Responsive Website vs. Mobile Site 3Mobile Site vs. Desktop Website 4Desktop Website 5Mobile Site 6Key Features of a Mobile Site 7Loading Speed 8Friendly Navigation 9Direct Contact 10Direction & Location Maps 11Essential Information 12Go Mobile 13

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Responsive Website vs. Mobile Site

Companies that are preparing for a mobile customer have a hard choice ahead: a responsive website (RWD), a separate mobile site, or a native application. Which way to go? It is not possible to give a one-for-all answer. The choice depends on the company’s strategy, complexity of the solution, available budget and programming resources or, finally, the time that they are ready to wait for a complete solution. Small and medium businesses that want to reduce costs and prepare for a mobile customer in a matter of days, may well create a professional mobile version of their website themselves, using ready builders available on the Internet. Using mobile website builders involves the cost of around €50 a year. Big companies will most probably decide on professional interactive agencies. The budgets for these solutions will approach several hundred Euros, on average. The price depends on various factors, such as the complexity of the solution, integration with external services, or the applied technique.

Not sure which solution is the best for your company? Find out more about the dif-ferences between a responsive website, a mobile site and a native app.

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Mobile Site vs. Desktop Website

What influence will a mobile site have on your desktop website? A dedicated mobile site is a separate and independent website, which you automatically redirect mobile device users to.

What does it mean? If someone searches for your company and then opens your website on a mobile device, or simply enters your www address into the Internet browser of their smartphone or tablet, they will see your mobile site. Users who open your website the same way on a computer, will see your desktop website. Creating a new mobile site does not involve rebuilding your desktop website – it is a valuable extension to it. What is more, each of them can be both created and maintained by a different company.

What is, then, a fundamental difference between a desktop website and a mobile site optimized for viewing on mobile devices?

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Desktop Website

A desktop website is not suitable for viewing on a smartphone because:

• it is “heavy” and loads too long on a smartphone

• its navigation is intended for operating with a mouse

• it is uncomfortable to view it on a small smartphone screen (you need to enlarge and swipe content)

• it is overloaded with content, which makes it difficult to perform typical “mobile” actions, such as finding the company’s location or contacting its staff quickly

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Mobile Site

A mobile site:

• is “light” and loads fast on a smartphone

• its navigation is designed for touch operation

• is optimized for viewing on a smartphone screen

• and oriented on mobile users’ actions – it is equipped with tappable phone numbers or driving directions

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Key Features of a Mobile Site

The reasons for a shift from standard solutions to mobility are quite evident. Smartphones and tablets are irre-placeable when it comes to immediate access to information. Mobile users can connect to the Internet almost anywhere – in a traffic jam, on a bus, or in a queue.

What are, then, the key features of a good mobile site from this perspective?

• loading speed• friendly navigation• direct contact• direction & location maps• essential information

Learn all features that consumers want on your mobile site.

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Loading Speed

Mobile users demand high loading speed. Most of them expect a website to load within 3 seconds on their device. Otherwise they will leave and, what is worse, they will not return to it. If you do not have a website optimized for viewing on mobile devices, it may take even half a minute for your desktop website to load on a mobile device. During this time your potential customers will close your website and you will miss out on new clients. This is why in the first place you should make sure your website loads in a matter of seconds.

Google recommends that mobile sites should render in under 1 second2

On average a desktop website loads 10 seconds on a smartphone110s

1s

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Friendly Navigation

Navigation is as important as the loading speed of the mobile website. Mobile users should be able to perform the most important actions from the level of the homepage and reach essential content from every single page.

It is a good practice to place a “Back” button both at the bottom of the subpages and in their upper part. We also need to remember that mobile users tap the screen with their fingers, so another good practice is to use larger buttons. It is recommended to design buttons at least 45 - 47 pix high.

Scan to open on a smartphone

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Direct Contact

A well-designed mobile website enables direct contact with a local business.

By adding “click-to-call” and “click-to-sms” buttons on your mobile site you will make sure your potential customers will be able to contact you at a single finger tap. Whereas by placing a contact form you will let them quickly ask questions about products and services they may be interested in. Thanks to these solutions your customers will contact you whenever they find your offer attractive.

Scan to openon a smartphone

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Direction & Location Maps

The majority of modern mobile devices are equipped with a built-in GPS system.

Therefore, by integrating your mobile website with services supporting maps, you can guide your potential customer straight to your door. How to do this? Today you can enrich mobile sites with maps providing driving directions from any location right to your business. Attracting customers has never been that easy!

Scan to open on a smartphone

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Essential Information

Mobile consumers look for specific information. The type of content that is desirable on large screens may be perceived merely as additional information on smaller devices.

To avoid excessive amount of content, what you should do on mobile websites is highlight only essential information and hide longer descriptions under headings that expand only after a user interested in learning the details taps it. Scrolling down a lengthy page is inconvenient for mobile users and hinders quick access to essential information, which discourages users from staying on the website.

Scan to open on a smartphone

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Go Mobile

We have presented sound reasons why you should adjust your business’s website to the needs of mobile device users. A desktop website is no longer enough.

Today you can create a professional mobile website yourself, in a few minutes. Online builders available on the market allow anyone with an access to the Internet to quickly create a website on their own. Working with such builders involves actions that we are all familiar with from programs like Word and does not require advanced computer or programming skills. It turns out that modern technology does not necessarily involve technical knowledge and might be an inexpensive solution, affordable for any business owner.

Do not wait until your competitors take away customers right from your doorstep – go mobile! Mobile sector is the future, therefore if your small or medium business is to survive, you need to adjust it to the new digital reality.

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Sources

1. Global Site Speed Overview: How Fast Are Websites Around The World?, April 2012, Google Analytics

2. Common mistakes in smartphone sites, Google Developers

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www.activemobi.com

A quick and simple way to start selling mobile websites under your own brand or create a mobile website for your business.

Web design agencies, developers, and marketing teams use ActiveMobi white label platform to create and sell mobile websites to small and medium businesses.

Business owners may create a mobile website themselves using the DIY builder or have a professional site created by ActiveMobi’s team of designers in up to 5 days.