Maximizing the Mobile Web Opportunity
06 August 2010
The Internet has been rapidly evolving since it first arrived on the scene. From box-shaped, bulky desktop computers to portable laptops, the way we access the Internet has completely changed in less than a decade. Weve been taking it even further this new millennium. Now anyone can access the Internet from their mobile devices on the go. What this means for people is that, no matter where they are, they can also have a direct link to the Internet and the
social networking sites they love to use. What this means for businesspeople is that their customers are always online, no matter what time of day, and transactions can be made with a simple click.If youre operating an
online business, then the best thing you can possibly do is to optimize your website/business in order to maximize this unique and rapidly growing mobile web opportunity. If you choose not to, your business will suffer because your competitors are surely out there optimizing their sites with the latest and greatest applications and software tweaks.
When websites first started going mobile a few years ago, they were crude versions that were slow to load and didnt offer even half of the main sites features. Ordinarily, it would have taken longer to change this, but the Internet is just too lucrative to leave in waiting. Instead of the time it took for color TV to advance to HD TV, crude mobile sites quickly morphed into sophisticated applications that not only allowed for great-looking and well-performing websites, but also provided fully-functional hubs that allowed people to make financial transactions from their mobile devices. This was huge for business. If youre planning on making a website business, you should also optimize it for mobile use. There are just as many tools and gadgets and how-to articles floating around about the mobile web as the regular web. This is something you do not want to miss out on. In the US alone, over 50 million people access the Net via their mobile devices every day. For your mobile website, streamline your content and dont put as much focus on
SEO as you would your main site. The idea here is to offer a portable version of your site to people who want to access it on the go. Besides, if your main site is correctly trafficked, then your mobile site will appear also. Check out the variety of applications and widgets available for mobile integration. Youll realize quickly that not everything will fit on a mobile site version and probably that it shouldnt anyway. With mobile sites, not everything is needed.The main factor here, though, is that you ensure your mobile site is functioning properly. This means youll have to access it through mobile means and refine anything thats not right. Make sure your links load and that your payment systems works well. Take care to make sure that everythings in working order so you can take advantage of the huge mobile market out there. It is well worth the effort youll put into going mobile.
