May 11th, 2012
ryanmerket
Thinking of taking the plunge and making your website mobile friendly? According to comScore, you should. Of the 97 million US Smartphone users, almost 50% visited Amazon’s mobile website or app. 80.4% of iPhone, Android and BlackBerry users in March accessed Facebook through its mobile site or app. It has become a necessity to provide a quality mobile experience that provides quick access to information about your business to Smartphone users.
If you’re ready to take your site mobile and are looking for the best way to get started, here are some basic tips and tools to help you get going. First, remember that mobile websites should have simple navigation with an intuitive user interface. Users should be able to quickly access the information they
want, like services your company offers. Your mobile site should be minimalistic and efficient – for example, you should keep your navigation bar as short as possible, and you should avoid excessive hyperlinks.
Finally, there are several services available that can help you move your site to mobile, regardless of your level of experience. Below, we’ve listed our top five services that will help you smoothly transition to a mobile-friendly website:
WPtouch for WordPress
by Bravenewcode.com
WPtouch can detect when a Smartphone is on your site and will automatically provide the reader a Smartphone-friendly theme. (Users are able to switch back to the traditional website layout if they choose.) Many industry experts have called the WPtouch Pro version one of the most polished and professional mobile plugins for WordPress. The ‘admin panel’ is easy to use, and WPtouch Pro has over 200 new features that were just made available to users.
DudaMobile By: DudaMobile.com
DudaMobile.com is perfect for people who are not web designers because they make it easy for anyone to create a mobile website through their large collection of pre-designed templates. Their software works on most major Smartphones (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, etc). DudaMobile converts your existing website into a mobile-friendly site. Any changes made to your website are automatically updated into your mobile site for free – a service some competitors charge for. Finally, DudaMobile makes it simple for mobile visitors to text your business info to others.
Mobify By: Mobify.com
Mobify.com is focused on business owners and their needs. For example, one of their marketing campaigns is specifically focused on “increasing mobile revenue and conversions.” Mobify provides their clients with responsive designs for mobile and tablet users. They also provide JavaScript API with cloud infrastructure. One of the biggest benefits of using Mobify if you are a business owner is that they incorporate your existing marketing efforts and campaigns into your mobile strategy.
GoMobi By: GoMobi.info
If you are looking to retail products on your mobile site, you may want to consider using GoMobi. GoMobi allows their your business to have a built in shopping cart on your mobile site. They also provide the ability for your site visitors to “Map It” or get directions to your front door without multiple clicks or opening a separate app.
Onbile by Onbile.com
Onbile.com is another easy-to-use service that requires little to no programming skills. Onbile is one of the few providers to offer their customers mobile website statistics. Onbile is known to be very compatible with their customer’s websites. Another cool feature of Onbile is that buyers can pick a plan or a pricing schedule that fits their needs. They do not have the “one size fits all” approach that other providers have.
I know this isn’t an all encompassing review but this should give you a good place to start. When you do end up picking a solution for you mobile site, remember that we here at AppGalleries also have a mobile friendly version of our app store product. We give you the ability to customize your app store to match your new mobile website. Running an app store is a great way to give your users quality content, keep users engaged, and provides a new revenue opportunity for you. If you’re interested in learning more, check out our product details page.
