Mobile Web on the Rise
According to Professor Post at West Virginia University, “the Web and the Internet have been revolutionary in connecting consumers and companies in ways that simply were not possible before,” (Post 2008). Soon, more companies are going to be using mobile websites to communicate with their customers rather than their highly designed and advanced websites. There probably will still be a need to have all the bells and whistles on the
corporate website, but I think we will see the trend of more people surfing for information via their mobile phones.
“The Mobile Web refers to the access to the World Wide Web using a mobile device such as cell phones, PDAs, and other portable gadgets connected to a public network. Such access does not require a desktop computer, nor a fixed landline connection,” (No Author 2009). Some of the most popular mobile websites in use today are those from news stations. For example, CBS News publishes news content to multiple devices simultaneously giving readers/viewers instant access to current news from anywhere they may be. According to PhoneCount.com, over 21% of the world is connected to the mobile web, which is equal to millions of people worldwide (Mippin 2008).
When developing a mobile website, the three most important factors of website design still apply. These include:
- Attractive Design
- Ease of Navigation
- Promotion of the Site
Even though you are viewing the site on a small screen, usally 3.2 inches, people still want to see a site that is somewhat visual stimulating and easy to navigate. A site still needs to be promoted so that poeple know it exists, so this is equally important also.
According to Nielsen, these are the top ten mobile websites:
What mobile website do you use the most?
References
Post, Rachel. (2008). The Internet & the web; banners, pop-ups & pop-unders. P.I. Reed School of Jounalism, WVU. Lesson 2, 8/18/2008.
Mippin. (2008). Phone Count. Retrieved January 22, 2009, from http://www.phonecount.com/pc/count.jsp .
No Author. (2009, January 17). Mobile Web. Posted to Wikipedia, archived at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Web .