We all remember when it was accepted to wait a few seconds for a computer to respond to a click on a web site or a tap on a keyboard? These days, even half a second — literally the blink of an eye — is too long. That barely perceptible delay causes people to search less according to Google. “We don’t like to wait, every millisecond matters”. Google and other tech companies are on a new pursuit for speed. The reason is the ever increasing number of smartphones and tablets that are creating annoying digital traffic jams, as people download maps, video clips of sports highlights, news updates or recommendations for nearby restaurants. The competition to be the quickest is fierce, and we are more likely to switch if we find a faster site. A web site’s performance can vary a lot, as can user expectations. A person will be more patient waiting for a video clip to load than for a search result. And web sites now face compromises between visual richness and rapid response times all the time. As a lot of sites now offer more video clips and interactive graphics, which can slow things down. Continue reading
A record number of users are now accessing the internet via a mobile phone or tablet device. Most of these users have previously been using desktop PCs, and have seen what they are capable of and what they can do. The consequence of this is that users are very demanding and expect the same sort of usability and features in mobile applications. The mass adoption of social media platforms by the public has also had an impact on mobile website design. Most of the population now tweets or follows, friends or connects to other users and to businesses too. This mass usage of social media has created an insatiable desire amongst mobile users for instant and real-time communication. Social media has raised expectations, and mobile website designers have had to respond to these demands. 2011 has seen many innovations in mobile website design: some of the trends will no doubt be forgotten before long and superseded: others, however, are here to stay and will be an integral part of mobile website design for the coming years. This article looks at 5 of those trends that will definitely endure. Continue reading
Unless you’ve been in hiding, you can’t have helped but notice that the mobile channel is growing. In fact it’s not just growing, more spiralling. Every small and medium sized business needs to recognise this and adjust their marketing strategy to accommodate mobile web access. We’ve all probably seem various sets of statistics that demonstrate that mobile internet is gaining in popularity, but few studies better demonstrate the phenomenal rate of this growth than the latest report conducted by Walker Sands Communications. The report claims that in the third quarter of 2011, more than 10 percent of all web traffic was accessed from a mobile device: that’s a rise of 6 percent in just one year. (a year-to-year growth rate of 153 percent) 87 percent of this mobile web traffic originates from small scale mobile devices, but it’s worth noting that tablet devices are catching up fast. It’s now reached the stage where mobile web access comprises a significant proportion of most business’s total web traffic. This is significant news for all SMEs, but particularly significant for those businesses that have delayed entry into the market and not yet implemented mobile marketing strategies. Continue reading
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing any mobile website designer is to design a mobile website that gets its message across loud and clear to the target audience. It’s all well and good designing a mobile website that looks great, but if it doesn’t resonate with the audience it’s aimed at, then it’s not doing its job properly. All online websites are there to either communicate a message or to sell a product or service. The mobile website design must therefore target the right audience and deliver a level of information and service that makes the audience want to come back and visit the site time and again. But, how do mobile website designers know their designs are doing what they should be doing? How do they track and analyse this online communication, and figure out whether the design is up to the job. The answer is they use website metrics to measure the effectiveness of the design, and apply the principles of Search engine optimisation to ensure that the message is getting across to the audience its intended for. Continue reading
Is your business stuck in a rut? Are you still clinging on to the idea that your main website is what will bring in the business? Can you not see the point in having a specific mobile website, or tapping into the social media revolution? If the answer to these questions is affirmative, then you could be missing out on a sizeable chunk of business. All companies need to ‘mobilise’ to capture the wealth on potential business out there. They need a website that’s specifically designed for mobile devices. Let’s face it your competitors have already done this, so shouldn’t you? Continue reading
We’re all aware that mobile internet usage is on the increase. We can see evidence of this all around us every day. However, it’s not been possible to put a precise figure on the number of adults who own a mobile phone and use mobile internet. Well, not until now at least. The Office for National Statistics has now produced a survey which has found that nearly half of all adults in the UK are now going online via mobile phone data connections. The figures are based on a random selection of 1800 people across the country. Continue reading
According to statistics released by Morgan Stanley, the current rate of change and adoption of all mobile devices has gathered such momentum that it is likely to be bigger and more widespread than desktop internet before 2015. These statistics are corroborated by the trends found in mobile analytics which suggest that more people than ever before are spending considerable amounts of time on the mobile web. Unfortunately, what is often ignored in all of this is the importance of mobile website design. Unless business specifically develop websites that are mobile-friendly and easy to navigate, then they are likely to miss out on the potential of mobile internet and the business benefits it can bring. So, is there anything a business can do to ensure that it meets the needs of its customers when they’re out and about? How can they ensure their mobile website design ticks all the right boxes? Continue reading
In spite of the massive increase in the number of mobile phone users logging onto the web every day, it seems there’s still a certain reluctance amongst smaller businesses to take the plunge and have their websites optimised for mobile browsing. Estimates suggest only 1% of UK businesses have bitten the bullet so far. Obviously all the big boys are well ahead of the game as you might expect, so it’s no surprise to see the likes of the BBC, Domino’s, William Hill and Hilton Hotels are already up and running. If mobile optimisation was a very expensive process then perhaps it might be understandable. However, mobile website design and optimisation needn’t be. When you factor in the phenomenal growth in the iPhone and Android market, and the fact that a large proportion of the users are on line at all times of day, doesn’t it make sense for your business to take up the mantle too? The trend for mobile searching will only continue to grow, and those businesses that fail to take steps to communicate with their customers when they’re on the go will inevitably fall further and further behind. Continue reading
Internet marketing and company profitability is crucial in today’s increasingly competitive market. The more traffic that can be driven to any website, the more likely it is that some of that traffic will convert into sales. It makes sense therefore for website designers to drive as many users as possible to websites, and that means making the most of the ever-expanding and influential mobile market. However, it may concern some of the companies who are desperate to attract this traffic that it appears half of mobile website designers are failing to take mobile phone users into account and are not designing websites for mobile visitors. Continue reading
According to recent figures released by the telecommunications watchdog, Ofcom, a third of all adults now own and use a smartphone. The figure is even higher for the younger generation. Ofcom’s annual Communications Marketing Report combines the work carried out by the regulator’s own research with work carried out by other industry analysts. The 341 page document provides a detailed snapshot of the nations’ TV, radio, internet and telecommunications consumption. The figures will have obvious resonance for both mobile website designers and anyone involved in the world of mobile internet, but do they tell us anything we didn’t really know before? Continue reading
