I recently dined at a restaurant in town for the first time. I was greeted warmly, seated at a comfortable booth, promptly, handed a simple menu, and served my beverage of choice, all rather quickly. My server was attentive. I ordered the Pad Thai with vegetables. My entrée was served just as I finished my soup. The food was great and I left thinking I would definitely be back and would share with friends.
I couldn’t help but think that more mobile websites should offer this same level of service, where the customer experience is high on the priority list.
Satisfy the Picky Eaters
According to a 2011 survey conducted by Modapt, Inc. and Morrissey and Co., mobile users are less than satisfied with their mobile web browsing experience, finding them less than optimal, even with next-generation devices.
- While 95% of respondents reported using advanced smartphones, more than 88% found their mobile browsing experience to be either “okay” or “frustrating”.
- More than 40% think that difficulty navigating websites is their biggest challenge when mobile web browsing.
According to Americans and their Cell Phones, a recent study by Pew Internet Research:
- 51% of cell phone owners use their mobile devices for quick retrieval of information
- 42% use their phone for entertainment and to combat boredom
- 16% find it difficult to read text on a mobile device
These numbers are substantially higher among smart phone users.
With more than 101.3 million smart phone users in the U.S. and more than 500 million mobile searches conducted monthly, and rapidly rising, it’s time for companies to provide mobile information in much the same way as my favorite new restaurant serves food.
• Quick
Mobile users live life on the go and won’t tolerate anything that wastes their most precious commodity – time. To be sure your site loads quickly, it must be designed for speed. Be sure that you’ve carefully edited the content, eliminating elements from your main site that may slow down the process.
• Fresh
Yesterday’s news has no place on the mobile web. Smart phone users want to know what’s happening now. To keep them coming back to your site, keep the content fresh and relevant, giving them a reason to return.
• Comfortably
Make your mobile site as friendly as possible. Complex design, too many graphic elements, extraneous copy, and type that doesn’t read well in a mobile environment are sources of user frustration. Navigation must be stress-free. Again, simplicity is key.
If you haven’t considered making your website mobile, you’re missing a huge market.
According to a new forecast by research firm Gartner, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common web access devices worldwide by 2013. Whether you decide to update your existing platform to mobile, create a separate mobile website, incorporate responsive design to your current site, or create a mobile app to compliment your site, it’s time go mobile.
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