The development of web technologies is strongly influenced by the constantly growing requirements and expectations of the Internet users.
In the previous article “What is jQuery and what is it used for?” we told you more about one of the web technologies by which you can make your website look modern and create exceptional user experience.
Now we will add: mobile website.
Having an interactive, impressive and fashionable mobile website is a must for a successful online presence.
Nowadays, we hardly ever think about how the broad access to information and active communication have become an inevitable part of our daily life. This happens thanks to the use of multiple technologies and devices. Smartphones and tablets put the whole Internet close at hand for people around the world.
According to Google statistics every seventh search is performed on a mobile device. 71% of the smartphone users look for more information on their phones after they see an advertisement on TV, online or in the press.
And now please pay attention to the following fact: 79% of the companies that advertise online still do not have a mobile-friendly website.
The smartphone users can quickly find information and products, they can compare prices and make a purchase almost anywhere, anytime. It is much easier to use for everything the 24/7 available smartphone that immediately connects to the Internet to find contacts, friends, entertainment and most importantly – information.
During the Olympic Winter Games in 2014 the web searches for the games through a smartphone or tablet reached 65%.
In 2013 the mobile device users are 4.1 billion worldwide, and according to the Cisco forecast they will have reached 4.9 billion in 2018.
Facebook has 556 million active mobile device users per day, according to a report for the last months of 2013.
How to make your website mobile-friendly?
You can make your website mobile-friendly in the following two ways: Firstly, you can create a second website that is intended for mobile device visitors. Secondly–make your website mobile- and desktop-friendly.
How a website is displayed on a mobile devices depends on whether its design is optimized for the screen size and the specifications of the phone.
The mobile website can be seen with equal quality no matter what the size of the smartphone or tablet’s screen is.
1. If you choose the first option and create a separate mobile version:
Most often the mobile website represents a specific version of the already existing mobile-friendly website. The most common way is when the mobile version is created as a subdomain of the main website, for example m.mysite.com or mobile.mysite.com. When the non-mobile site is visited from a smartphone or tablet it redirects the user to the mobile version.
If you need to create a mobile version of the website find out how you can redirect the main website mysite.com to the mobile version m.mysite.com.
It is highly recommended that the mobile versions have the content of the websites compressed before it is practically seen by visitors. This will speed up the website loading on the mobile device.
Content compression through the mod_deflate module is supported for the SuperPro и SuperHosting plans and all services for servers. Find out how you can activate the module in cPanel..
2. The second option – one for all and all for one
The latest web design trend is creating a compact and mobile-friendly website. A single website, without a second mobile version. This website has a responsive web design and is displayed great on any devices, resolutions and screens.
Responsive web design or adaptive web design is a type of web design that makes the website seen with equally good quality when loaded from any type of device – desktop or mobile. The website’s layout adapts to the visitor’s screen resolution. The design elements are arranged in a way that makes everything accessible and easy to find. Thus, there is no need for the website to be resized or moved around the screen manually.
Using a mobile-friendly website is very fast, easy and efficient.
According to Google research, after accessing a mobile-friendly site 74% of the users confirm that they are likely to visit it again and 67% are more likely to buy a product or service
Here is an example of how a mobile-friendly website with a responsive design is displayed on different mobile devices:
Unlike when using desktop computers, mobile device users most often search for a business or service close to their location. Every third search is performed on a mobile device. After searching on a mobile device, 61% of the users are calling the contact numbers on the website and 59% go straight to the place they found on the web..
The users need to find the necessary information in the quickest and easiest possible way no matter where they are – in the office, in front of the TV, in the bathroom or outdoors. When they bump into a website that is not mobile-friendly, users are likely to give up looking through it. Instead, they will go to the next search result.
How To Create a Mobile Website With Responsive Design?
If you already have a website and you are using a user-friendly content management system like WordPress, Joomla or another one, you can make the website mobile-friendly with an appropriate theme.
Directory with WordPress themes and option for a advanced search.
There are also WordPress plugins, which can help you make your website mobile-friendly. This is, for example WPtouch Mobile Plugin. You can see how such a plugin works when you open this article on your mobile device.
If the website is custom designed for you and is not responsive, you can still add such a feature. However, this will require further development.
A question with increasing mobility: How often do you browse the web on a mobile device? Are you patient enough to look through a website that is not mobile-friendly?
