This week, we launched the first two starter mobile web sites for clients. There is a growing breakaway pack of early adopters and the conversation continues about mobile web sites.
Doug Brossoit, DDS in Spokane, WA is our cosmetic dentist to hang a mobile version of his web site. You can see it at MakingAwesomeSmiles.com on your mobile device. The mobile site features much of Doug’s video and makes an excellent impression on handheld devices. Patrick McMenamin (RenewYou.com) in Sacramento, CA is our first cosmetic surgeon to go live with a starter mobile site from Dog Star Media. His video also features the video from his web site, which is not visible on mobile devices as it is embedded in Flash.
As I mentioned, the conversation continues on this each day. It is clearly the hot topic in early 2010. I think this is because Google began measuring mobile site use separately in November of last year and it is showing up on everyone’s analytics. Here are some of the discussion points as to why you would need a mobile site.
1) If your site has Flash you should have a mobile site.
Depending on your design, your Flash may contain vital information such as embedded video or critical information. It may also simply contain aesthetics you wish to be associated with your image. Either way, Flash cannot be viewed on mobile devices and shows up as a missing element. This is a detraction from your design no matter how you cut it. If you have Flash, you are not making an optimum presentation on mobile devices.
2) Flash Video does not play on mobile devices but we can fix that.
In a mobile site, your video can play and play well, just not in Flash. Video needs to be reprogrammed into QuickTime and offered in the proper format. For those of you who have well-made video and rely on it to create an image of difference, your investment in video is eroding as it is not seen on mobile devices where a substantial segment of Internet users are surfing.
3) If 10% or more of your site visits are coming from mobile devices, you need a mobile site.
Web traffic is relative. Some people buy it and work hard for it. Some take what they get because of where they are geographically. Either way, if 10% of your site users are not seeing your site properly, that is too many failed visits. Think of it this way, what if 10% of your users could not download the graphics on your web site. Would that be ok? Of course not. So, you want to make this change before you get to 10%.
I encourage you to visit the mobile sites I have posted here and the others I will be posting in coming weeks to get a feel for the state of mobile web sites. My best advice is to put your best foot forward in this format because the trend of mobile Internet use is strong and growing with more than 50% of Internet use occuring on mobile devices. And, if you want to play it smart, make this move before you hit the 10% mark in visitors. If you wish to add a starter mobile site to your Internet strategy, we have an expandable starter package for a 7-page site for $1000. If you are interested in assuring that you are making the best impression all around on the Internet regardless of the device used for display, please contact me today at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
