Should Freight Pro Source consider a mobile/tablet friendly design when the site is redesigned in the next six months? Yes you should and I feel it should be a mobile “first” design. I would not be doing my job if I didn’t show you the reasons you should consider a mobile “first” design.
My generation might possibly be that last generation to see a phone with a cord. We also might be the last generation who knows what a land line is and we are certainly the last generation to use a rotary phone.
If it is reach you are looking for then reach no further. The amount of mobile subscribers in the U.S. alone is staggering. With 271 million mobile subscribers the question is not “why mobile” but “why not”. The tablet craze is also another reason to consider going mobile.According to SEO site checkup, as of June 2011, Apple has sold 25,000,000+ iPads. Amazon has came out with their own version of the tablet and so has many other competitors. By 2015 Web Hosting Buzz predicts mobile Internet will overtake desktop Internet 52% to 48%.
More than half of all of the iOS web traffic is devoted to search. This is a staggering number if you compare it to the 36% you find on the Internet. In the beginning, mobile web design was an after thought. Web sites just tried to make the sites mobile friendly. However with more and more people using their mobile devices to access the web we are seeing a shift in this thought process. We are seeing mobile sites being developed first and being developed as stand alone sites. They are longer watered down versions of their desktop counterparts.
As mobile use increases the design process will become easier and more standard however today there are several devices and each has its own set of requirements. Even with this considered, the design of the web site should consider all device types that could possibly be used to access the site. The can be accomplished with the use of html 5 and progressive enhancement. A site built around the progressive enhancement concept has all the bells and whistles for someone who is accessing the site on the latest and greatest desktop with a current browser but it is also designed for users who might have less sophisticated equipment and software.
The mobile website for Orbitz is a good example. Orbitz provides just enough content to satisfy the mobile user. Bounce rate is an issue with mobile sites so cluttering the page with large amounts of content is considered a no no. The content must be easy to find and to the point.
Navigation must be considered when designing a site to be used on a mobile device. On devices with small screens it is hard to see all the options available if the site has horizontal navigation. A well designed mobile site will have vertical navigation. Vertical navigation accommodates the smaller screen and allows all the options available to be seen by the user. This will help reduce the bounce rate.
The mobile website for CNN is not a good example. It looks like a website from the 1990’s. The content is close together so if someone like myself who has big fingers tries to click on a article to read it, I might get the one I clicked on and I might not.
What if a Freight Pro Source client could access the status of their load being shipped through a mobile ap. This ap can be included as part of the mobile site design. Other issues that should be considered are the logo. Image size should be considered as to reduce load time for the mobile user. A search bar should be included at the top of the page to make finding content easier for the user and the content needs to be straight and to the point. The site should also include vertical navigation as opposed to the horizontal navigation that is used on the current traditional site. Content should also be a consideration in the develop of the site.
So now our question becomes “where is the beef?” The beef is mobile marketing. Mobile marketing not only gives you the beef, it gives it to you on a platter. It gives you reach. It gives you access to your clients whenever and wherever they need your services. You put all that together on a sandwich and it would make Dave Thomas proud!
