The Bootstrapper's Guide to the Mobile Web

Practical Plans to Get Your Business Mobile in Just a Few Days for Just a Few Bucks

Deltina Hay

• Publisher: Quill Driver Books
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781610351652
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Web Development
• Index: Computer Science

Creating a successful mobile-web presence is achievable with the tools found in this guide--without needing to learn a programming language or become a Web designer. Such a presence is now a necessity, rather than a luxury, for all businesses, organizations, and independent professionals to stay competitive. This quick, practical, hands-on introduction to the nuts and bolts of using the mobile web to grow a brand, improve sales, and increase profits is written for lay people and avoids jargon and programming concepts. Time- and money-saving solutions are presented, teaching technical novices how to quickly adapt their existing websites to the mobile ones and how to easily create mobile applications without having to learn to program. Step-by-step instructions stand alongside real-world examples of successful mobile-web transitions, and advice on best practices is provided to help business owners, entrepreneurs, marketing professionals, and creative professionals create the presence they need to help their business flourish.

1 Mobile Websites

“Anything Google creates...will first be placed on the mobile platform and then be worked around for the desktop...I believe that in 3 years desktop computers will be irrelevant.” —Google CEO Erik Schmidt, 20101

In This Chapter

How People Use the Mobile Web

Why a Mobile Website?

Planning Your Mobile Website

Mobile Website Best Practices

Options for Creating Your Mobile Website

Preparing Your Strategy, Preparing Your Content, Example Strategies

Step-by-Step Website Examples

Custom Domains, Mobile Traffic Detection and Redirection

Optimization, Testing, Analytics, Promotion

Bootstrapper’s Guide

I don’t have time for statistics: Skip to here

I don’t need to be convinced, show me how to start: Skip to here

Give me a list of best practices, and I’ll be on my way: Skip to here

I don’t need a strategy, just tell me my options: Skip to here

Take me straight to the meat, I’ll wing it as I go: Skip to here

I have a mobile website, show me how to improve it: Skip to here

Mobile Websites

We shared some impressive statistics about general mobile usage in the introduction to this book, but there are some interesting numbers when it comes to the use of mobile browsers, too. Initially, many industry thought-leaders predicted mobile apps would put an end to users searching for information and businesses on traditional browsers. The numbers show a different story.

A June 2011 comScore study showed that browsers were used by 40.1 percent of mobile subscribers, while downloaded applications were used by 39.5 percent2. Gartner predicts that “By 2013, the combined installed base of smartphones and browser-equipped enhanced phones will exceed 1.82 billion units and will be greater than the installed base for PCs thereafter3.” They go on to say that “Websites not optimized for the smaller-screen formats will become a market barrier for their owners....”

With most service providers offering 3G or 4G service, browsing the Internet using mobile devices is much easier for users today. And with browser usage surpassing downloaded applications, you can count on your customers looking for you online. The question is whether or not your site is ready for them.

How People Use the Mobile Web: I Want It NOW!

It is important to understand that people browse differently on mobile devices than they do on their desktop computers. Users don’t typically “surf” the web using mobile devices. Their motives are intentional and action-based. They know what they are looking for and they are more likely to take action once they find it.

Consumers use mobile search mostly to access local information, stay informed, buy products, and download music and videos.

In a study from Google conducted by Ipsos OTX4:

• Search engine websites are the most visited websites, followed by social networking, retail, and video sharing websites.
• Nine out of 10 smartphone searches results in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.).
• 24% recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search.
• 95% of smartphone users have looked for local information.
• 88% of these users take action within a day, indicating these are immediate information needs.
• 77% have contacted a business with 61% calling and 59% visiting the local business.
• 79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices and finding more product info to locating a retailer.
• 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase, whether online, in-store, or on their phones.

Take these facts into consideration when creating your mobile website. When a potential customer lands on your site, assume they are there for a specific purpose. Your goal is to predict the customer’s intentions, and make certain there is a way for them to take action easily without navigating away from your site. If your site loads too slowly, does not clearly present actionable items, or if content and buttons are too small for visitors to access, they will likely move on.

Why a Mobile Website: A big deal

You may think your website displays fine in mobile browsers, even if it is a little small. So what’s the big deal? As we will see, just having a mini version of your existing website is not going to cut it. You need a mobile version of your website that addresses all of the following issues.

Load Time: Slow Kills

While a website designed for mobile will load in around four or five seconds, a traditional website can take as long as 40 seconds to load on a mobile device. Not only will this lead to much frustration for your site visitors, but it will also keep your site from placing well in mobile searches.

Mobile Searches: You Want In

Even if your site displays properly in mobile browsers, it may not be indexed by mobile search algorithms. When one uses a search engine on a mobile device, the search query accesses a separate index maintained for mobile content. If your website is not optimized for mobile search engines, it will not place well in such search results.

Mobile Browser Standards: Different Strokes

Mobile browsers do not work the same as desktop browsers. They do not render video, Flash, image galleries, and many other software and scr...

Table of contents

• Contents at a Glance
• Notice of Copyright
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 Mobile Websites
• 2 Mobile Applications
• 3 Mobile Marketing Tactics
• Conclusion
• Glossary of Terms
• List of QR Codes
• Index
• About The Author