If you own a website then taking the time to research and learn about converting your website to a mobile version and make it mobile friendly is a great idea. While access to the internet has become commonplace these days from a PC, access from a mobile device is set to revolutionise the way we all access our information. Think of the number of times it would have been handy to quickly get the details about a particular product or service while you’ve been outside your home.
Converting Website to Mobile Made Easy!
Many companies have already seen how promising the potential of converting their website to a mobile platform is, and is going to be in the future. They have already equipped themselves and their business websites with a mobile version. A mobile website today is not simply a passing fad. It is predicted that in the future, mobile sites will prove to be a necessity, perhaps even the new internet standard.
Not investing in a mobile website for your business could be very costly if it is not considered as a genuine part of your business marketing machine. Right now, there are millions of mobile users browsing the Internet. However, there is an unfortunate disconnect when it comes to the number of consumer-focused mobile websites that actually load properly on phones.
Currently, when somebody tries to use a “normal” website from their mobile device, it’s usually slow -really slow – you may already know this! The reason is that the website hasn’t been designed for viewing from this type of device, usually because it is unable to support the JavaScript software that allows it to display properly.
Many business owners do not know where to begin to develop a mobile website. However, it really is not that difficult as long as you follow some basic steps. Being able to jump on a mobile friendly website that has been converted from your main one allows people to easily view your site and see exactly what you have to offer. It’s quite easy to do, and has helped those people who have decided to get in early to dominate their market. You might want to take a look at the steps below.
The 7 Steps to Converting Websites to Mobile:
1. Register the domain
The first step is to register your .mobi domain. Some people like to actually use the .mobi domain as a separate website but you can also just redirect it from the main domain.
2. Planning
If you decide to have the layout of your mobile website the same as your main one, it won’t work. As you know, the size of the screen on a mobile device is much smaller and isn’t able to display in the same way. Take the time to plan how you’d like the site to look once it’s done, and what are the main features that you’d like to illustrate or the offers you’d like to show.
The 3 main elements to take into consideration are the layout, design and construction. The amount of images and graphics should be kept to a minimum as well as the use of tables. All this will speed up the load time of your mobile website and make it nice and easy to use. Another important point is to keep the design as simple as possible as a small screen size benefits this type of layout. The content construction on the mobile website should be easy to read and navigate.
3. Make Sure the Coding is Up to Scratch
Good choices of markup language for building up mobile websites are XML and XHTML, depends on the target market.
4. Validate Your Site Before Going Live
Ensure that your coding is valid by using online validator. Codes that are valid are more likely to be delivered correctly to all mobile devices. Some examples of validators are Mobile-friendly XHTML Validator (W3C), Mobile-readiness checker (.mobi), mobileOK Basic Checker (TAW) and WuRML (shadowplay.net).
5. Emulating
Once you have confirmed that your codes are valid, you can test your mobile website on various kinds of mobile device platforms using web-based emulators such as XHTML Mobile Profile (Firefox plug-in), wmlbrowser (Firefox plug-in), i-mode emulator (DoCoMo) and Mobile emulator (.mobi).
If you have a mobile device yourself, the best thing to do is to try it on that and see for yourself if there are any issues that need t be resolved. Discover any errors or layout problems yourself as this is what visitors will have to deal with.
6. Keep Your Site Fully Maintained
Any software that has been used on your mobile website should always be up to date. Keeping up with the latest versions will keep your site free of potential compatibility problems. Things are always changing these days and keeping your site tip-top will make sure your visitors have a good user experience.
7. Test
One of the most effective issues to consider when creating your mobile site is to test what is working and what is not. Optimizing your site for conversions, whether it be sales or lead generation is crucial for staying ahead of your competition. Google analytics is a great place to start – http://www.google.com/analytics/
Summary:
I hope this has provided you with a good outline for converting your website to a mobile version. One of the most important things to do is to take action if you are thinking about developing a mobile website. Delaying to get your business converted to mobile in the ever expanding world of mobile devices and platforms could leave you lagging behind your competitors. If you’d like us to help you develop your custom-made, distinctive mobile website feel free to get in touch with us at the link below:
http://ads.patrickshenry.com/mobilewebsite/
Toy manufacturer Lego has recently dipped its toe into the mobile marketing arena with a series of ads on Google’s mobile advertising network. The ads were promoting Lego’s Duplo line of toys among consumers in Singapore and yielded a 1.3% click-through rate. The campaign featured banner ads that directed users either to a mobile-optimized site or a 30-second video.
