In my last post (admittedly, a long time ago) I mentioned that it may not be necessary to put all of your site content into a mobile format. There has been some debate on this topic already. Very valid points have been made on both fronts.
If it were an ideal world, sure, we’d all create a mobile version of our sites with trimmed down, mobile appropriate content and accessibility. But, lets be realistic for just a moment. It’s hard enough to find primary sites that are half decent; what are the odds of the average company putting the resources into both?
So, my advice is focus on what’s mission critical in selecting your mobile content. Get that built and live, then consider the debate and challenge in creating a mobile version of your entire site.
Some things to consider when deciding which content to create a mobile version of:
What might your customers be looking for while they’re on the road? Remember, they aren’t likely to be “surfing”. Realistically, they’ll be using a mobile device because they are away from their PC and need to get something done.
Some brief ideas to get you thinking about how it could be applied to your site:
- Hours, directions and phone numbers.
- Current inventory (especially auto dealers, how nice would that be when you’re out car shopping?)
- Schedules and Agendas (if you have events customers attend such as seminars for example, they might just be checking to see if they’re on time).
- Airline arrivals and departures (a great one that we’re fortunate enough to be implementing soon for CAK)
- Web coupons/specials (what easier way to decide which pizza shop to go with when you’re out of town and searching for local joints?)
Of course, there are many other great uses for mobile content. Hopefully the few I’ve listed here will generate some ideas and help prioritize the nature of the content that you might add to your site.