Mobile Websites

If you've built a website in the past 2-3 years, chances are your website will render reasonably well on a mobile device. Your design most likely scales to fit your user's screen and all your content, images, and videos load. Even your photo rotator probably works. However, the text is probably too small and the navigation is potentially tricky to work with. And, surveys show visitors want quicker access and easy to read text when using a mobile device. 

A Google survey reveals the top 5 things mobile searchers are looking for are as follows:

• Business location information and hours
• Ability to click a link and call the business
• Send an email
• Download an app
• Access the company's social media outlets

With this in mind, navigation is the backbone of an effective mobile site. It should be straightforward and easy to use. Because visitors are interacting with their hands on your mobile site, large buttons will make it easier for them to navigate. Rollovers or dynamic navigation should be avoided and it should be easy to jump between primary and secondary levels of navigation. And, if your site is large, you'll want to include a search option.

If you are happy with your desktop browser experience, but want to create a moblie-friendly experience, a stand-alone mobile website is a great option to develop a design and navigation structure that specifically tailors to your mobile users. Code can be applied to your existing website that will detect traffic coming from a mobile device and automatically direct them to your mobile website. Most content-management system including engage CMS can support a mobile structure so you can retain the maintenance abilities most clients have grown to rely on.

An alternative would be to overhaul your entire website presence and create a true responsive website. This approach allows you to develop and maintain a single website that will render consistently on any device. The design and layout adjusts automatically to the screen size of the mobile device, tablet, or desktop. However, due to the design restrictions, not all content management systems can effectively support a responsive website.