Mobile versions of websites

I'm just wondering if people create a mobile version of a new website as a matter of course? It's something I've been thinking about lately, but know little about because I won't be separated from my beloved Nokia brick which only does calls and texts, but is indestructable and doesn't require an doctorate to operate. Can the new generation of smartphones surf regular websites well?

JohnK

We've not done anything special for mobiles to be honest since looking at the stats for our sites the combined number of mobile browsers logged is less than 0.5% of the total visitor count

To give an example of one site:
# Visitors: 104,618
iPhone: 310 (0.28%)
iPod: 99 (0.09%)
SymbianOS: 47 (0.04%)

Hard to convince a client to pay for a mobile skin to a site when they look at those numbers.

Thanks for that JohnK. Interesting stats.

CuLT

m.boards.ie clocks in at just under 1.3 million pageviews a month according to Google Adsense.

Boards.ie doesn't run Google Analytics on m.boards.ie as a percentage of mobile browsers don't execute javascript, plus it would up the data traffic per page.

Not sure how reliable the figures are, but it's a good indicator for us that the mobile site is worth maintaining.

mneylon

Mobile 'net usage is growing steadily

Ignoring it is probably not a good idea

Mobile 'net usage is growing steadily

Ignoring it is probably not a good idea

I don't think anybody here is advocating ignoring it. Certainly I'm very aware that I'm going to have to add some mobile chops to my repertoire in the not-too-distant future.

I'm curious as to when the market is likely to demand that a mobile-friendly web experience will become the default rather than the exception. With wi-fi, faster processor speeds, availability of popular browser plugins, and higher res screens appearing in the high end phones, I'm sure the technology will continue to improve and bubble down. Will we reach a stage where mobile devices can give the user an acceptable browsing experience on sites optimized for desktop machines? Or will the rising baseline for the desktop browsing experience continue to outpace mobile device capabilities indefinitely?

mneylon

Deleted User wrote: »

Will we reach a stage where mobile devices can give the user an acceptable browsing experience on sites optimized for desktop machines? Or will the rising baseline for the desktop browsing experience continue to outpace mobile device capabilities indefinitely?

They're two very different things.

If I'm walking down the street I'm not going to want the same kind of information as when I'm sitting at my desk or at home ..

The mobile experience should be completely different to the desktop one as the user expectation is going to be completely different

Random

JohnK wrote: »

We've not done anything special for mobiles to be honest since looking at the stats for our sites the combined number of mobile browsers logged is less than 0.5% of the total visitor count

To give an example of one site:
# Visitors: 104,618
iPhone: 310 (0.28%)
iPod: 99 (0.09%)
SymbianOS: 47 (0.04%)

Hard to convince a client to pay for a mobile skin to a site when they look at those numbers.

Could those same stats not be used to argue that customers are being lost in terms of mobile users because the site isn't mobile friendly?

JohnK

I suppose you could but since mobiles only account for a combined total of 0.41% of the total visitor count it wouldn't really be considered a priority.

mawk

JohnK wrote: »

We've not done anything special for mobiles to be honest since looking at the stats for our sites the combined number of mobile browsers logged is less than 0.5% of the total visitor count

To give an example of one site:
# Visitors: 104,618
iPhone: 310 (0.28%)
iPod: 99 (0.09%)
SymbianOS: 47 (0.04%)

Hard to convince a client to pay for a mobile skin to a site when they look at those numbers.

i think im probably 1/47th of point zero four percent of those figures.

and as .0008511% of your total traffic, I expect a symbian friendly page dammit!

Sparks

blacknight wrote: »

If I'm walking down the street I'm not going to want the same kind of information as when I'm sitting at my desk or at home ..
The mobile experience should be completely different to the desktop one as the user expectation is going to be completely different

That was the big message DotMobi was always trying to push (and which was lost in the soundbites sometimes to the whole "m."-vs-".mobi" thing). Contextual awareness, that was the key.

gcdwebmaster

Just to say I think the Irish Rail

http://www.irishrail.ie/realtime/index.asp

is great and bang on what I wanted! even on my ancient handset!

DirectEbooks

I've been wondering how popular the mobile specific sites are. Are they expensive to amke. For example, I have an existing site and would like an iphone version. Is it expensive to so this backwards so to speak?
I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with experience in this.

Also, can you integrate checkouts etc into the mobile site?

ChRoMe

DirectEbooks wrote: »

I've been wondering how popular the mobile specific sites are. Are they expensive to amke. For example, I have an existing site and would like an iphone version. Is it expensive to so this backwards so to speak?
I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with experience in this.

Also, can you integrate checkouts etc into the mobile site?

Yes it can be done, the time and cost will be reflective of how complex it is. The iPhone supports SSL so accepting credit cards is possible. What exactly is the function of the site?