Lunch & Launch Recap: Going Mobile With Your Web Presence

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA9 years ago

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Most of us – especially business owners – have some type of mobile device. The devices we once carried to simply make phone calls have become hand-held computers, allowing us research, connect with people, and make real-time decisions.

Your customers are going mobile. Can your website adapt?

Brad Griffith, president of Buckeye Interactive, presented “Going Mobile With Your Web Presence” at Innovate New Albany on June 12. The event was part of SunDown RunDown’s Lunch & Launch series.

Brad discussed why your website should be viewable on mobile, and educated the group on the differences between mobile apps, mobile websites and responsive websites.

Your business needs a mobile friendly site because:

• Your customers are using their phones more and more often, and not just for talk
• Mobile devices are with your customers all day long
• Many people have an emotional attachment to their phones
• Google will rank your website better if it’s mobile friendly
• Google estimates that 6 in 10 visitors will leave your site if it’s not accessible by mobile device

Mobile devices offer a new way to consume information. The same information that’s important on your website is also important on mobile. Mobile friendly websites should be consistent with your brand, but have the following qualities:

• Key it quick – easy-to-find information your visitors are looking for
• Simple navigation
• Thumb friendly – the line height, text size and buttons are easy to click
• Clear and easy calls to action
• A seamless experience for your users

So which is best for your business – an app, a mobile website or a responsive website?

Brad thoroughly explained and gave examples of the following:

Mobile Apps

Mobile apps are developed for a specific mobile operating system and downloaded from an app marketplace, such as Google Play or the App Store.

Apps are “native,” which means they are written in a program language, not through the web. They provide the best access to hardware capability, and since most people don’t take the time to delete them, they have a constant presence on users’ home screens, whether they are used or not. Despite their advantages, apps are typically more expensive to develop and maintain and have marketplace restrictions.

Mobile Websites

A mobile website is a separate version of a website that’s optimized for mobile users. It has streamlined options to content and fewer graphics, which is better for a slow connection.

With mobile websites, you can tailor your site experiences to users on the go. It’s inexpensive or even free to generate a mobile site from the desktop version. However, it can be difficult to maintain if you’re not connected to main site, and your assumptions about what information is important to your users may be wrong.

Responsive Websites

Responsive websites are the best option for most, because a single site can serve equally well to mobile and desktop browsers. It uses CSS media queries that adjust the layout of the site to the width of the screen.

A responsive website allows for a consistent, cohesive user experience across phones, tablets and desktops. Existing sites can be retrofitted to be more responsive, but it is expensive. Once you’ve got a responsive website, it should still look good on mobile when technology is upgraded or newly developed.

For more information about going mobile with your web presence, email Brad at Buckeye Interactive or visit their website at www.buckeyeinteractive.com.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.