Mobile Compatable Websites vs Mobile Specific Websites vs Mobile Apps

The use of smartphones have proliferated in the last year, which means that there are far more opportunities to reach consumers via a mobile website.With the surge of consumers using their smartphones to find local businesses, visit web sites and overall communicate online, it’s important that you strategically think how your company’s web site should be mobile friendly.

There are three main ways to do this:

Option 1: You could simply ensure that your existing website is able to display correctly on a mobile browser.

Option 2: Develop a native application that for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android or Windows and encourage users to download it from the App store of the respective phone vendor or wireless provider.

Option 3: Build a mobile specific website designed to work in tandem with your existing website.

Whatever your decision is, there is no “right” or “wrong” answer, it really depends on what works best for your business and most importantly what your customers want.

The concern with Option 1 is that most all websites designed for PC and laptop size screens simply are hard to navigate on a hand held mobile device. Trying to find your way around a company’s website rendered onto a mobile small screen can be tedious at best, and often dangerous while driving. That being said, having a website that is not even mobile compatible is even worse, so a web-compatible site is the first step many take in reaching out  to the largest audience available.

In regards to Option 2, mobile applications are red-hot right now and can offer a richer device-specific experience than a mobile compatible site. One reason why many retailers have forked out big cash for iPhone apps over the past year has been their mobile visitor stats, which have often shown the vast majority coming from iPhones. One of the biggest obstacle to using mobile apps for your company’s online mobile presence is the need for development across multiple platforms; iPhone, Android, Blackberry and on. The cost and time required in developing applications across these multiple platforms can be prohibitive. A second concern is audience reach, apps are for smart phones exclusively which cuts out a large segment of your audience and potential client base.

Option 3- mobile specific website designs offer a much richer experience than simple mobile compatible websites, work cross all platforms, and are relatively inexpensive to develop and implement.

An Adobe Mobile Study found that consumers prefer the mobile Web over smartphone applications, which has huge implications for mobile advertisers, retailers and content providers. Within the consumer products, shopping, media and entertainment categories, 66 percent of respondents cited that they prefer the mobile Web for accessing content compared to 34 percent who cited a preference for downloadable applications.

It is important to know who your customers are. Your various customer segments will have varying preferences, and these preferences change. Although this is challenging, to maximize your online communication you’ll have to stay on top of the various communication channels and measure which channels are most effective, so you know where to dedicate your energy.

Most importantly, no matter what, you need to be where you customers are — so if they are on the web, be on the web, if they’re on Facebook, be there too. The same goes with email, SMS, mobile Apps and mobile websites.

For a professional analysis of your current mobile web needs you can call us or complete our simple contact form to schedule a no obligation consultation with one of the mobile design professionals at Zurich Media Group.