Mobile Website: Are you reaching your users?
Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 April 2010 19:17 Written by Anthony Pesce Tuesday, 06 April 2010 19:06
So your business has a website, but are your customers able to easily access it? In today’s on-the-go consumer culture, people want to be able to access your goods and services on the fly. The solution to your business needs: Mobile Web. Mobile web access ensures that your customers will always be able to reach your company’s website and get the information they need, when they need it.
In a recent New York Times article, David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School, stated that “The new paradigm [in business] is mobile computing and mobility.” He goes on to say that the mobile web “has the potential to change the economics of the Internet business and to redistribute profits yet again.” Fifth House Solutions will make sure that your business stays at the forefront of this next revolution in consumer/business relationship. We’ll analyze your business to determine how and why your customers access your website from their mobile devices.
There are two main ways that consumers can access your website from mobile devices, from a mobile optimized site or from a specific mobile application. There are pros and cons to each, and Fifth House Solutions will help you sort them out to determine which is best for your business. We’ll start by asking you three questions:
- Why would potential customers access your website through a mobile device? Are they seeking out basic information on your business (location/store hours) or do they want to purchase your goods and services?
- What value can your business add to the customer experience by providing mobile web access? Will they be able to access the same information as on the main business website or is there a specific customer mobile experience?
- Will the mobile web experience be separate and distinct from the main online website, or will the mobile access funnel customers back to the main webpage?
Your business’ answers to these questions will help us determine which mobile web experience best suits your current and potential customer base. Fifth House Solutions can provide your customers mobile access to your website via an mobile optimized site, a mobile web application, or both.
| Mobile Optimized Site | Web Application | |
| Pros | Can reach a Broader Target Audience | Easy to develop and maintain since there is only one operating system to consider |
| Does not require consumer to download a specific application | Can leverage mobile device applications such as camera, GPS, and voice | |
| Can be less expensive to develop | Can work even if connectivity is an issue | |
| Can more easily gather user metrics by keeping website “in house” | ||
| Cons | Difficult to maintain user experience across different mobile devices | Mobile specific application would have to be tailored per device type |
| Applications need to be updated | Applications need to be updated | |
| Currently difficult to get metrics on usage | ||
| Can be costly to make application | ||
>
With either choice, it’s crucial that your business maintains mobile web access for your potential and established customer base. The mobile web is a fast growing segment of the online market, and your business has to be able to fulfill your customers’ needs on an ongoing basis. Fifth House Solutions will analyze if either or both of these methods meet your business needs, then we’ll implement a solution that best allows your customers to access your goods and services. Visit our Mobile Solutions to get started.