RBM: Is Your Site Cross-Platform Compatible? - John Bosso

The popularity of mobile webenabled devices like smartphones and tablets is increasing rapidly among businesses and private consumers According to comScore MobiLens there were 632 million US smartphone users in December 2010 and 48 percent of phone owners can browse the full web on their devices There are more than 10 different mobile device platforms available in the US and most of them are capable of supporting multiple browsersJust as businesses had to adapt rapidly to the proliferation of the Internet they must continue to adjust their websites to the needsamp8212and the limitationsamp8212 of mobile platforms Advances in mobile device technology improved browser functionality more reliable Internet connectivity and the availability of unlimited data plans have made consumers much more likely to access the web on the go Many businesses have found that they must update adjust or completely reinvent their websites to improve the experience for their mobile visitorsWebsite Design ampamp Development Best PracticesTo find out if your site is optimized for all of your users and their platforms start by reviewing the analytics of your existing webpage The information you find here will help you improve your site39s usability by knowing what operating system and browser combo your customers are usingMobile versus Desktop VisitorsHow are most of your visitors accessing your site By tracking the behavior of your mobile visitors and reviewing your site analytics you can optimize your site by answering these simple questions How much time do mobile users spend browsing your site versus desktop users What is their conversion rate on mobile vs desktopOptimize Design for Mobile Platforms Giving your visitors easy access to relevant information should be your first priority Again use analytics to determine what pages and what information most of your visitors are accessing most of the time Your mobile visitors should be able to reach this information with minimal typing scrolling magnifying or linkclicking Reformat your mobile site to include the ondemand information as close to the top of the main page as you can To improve readability consider changing your font size and style your background color and your layout Webpages with just one column are typically easier to navigate on a smartphone39s vertical screenOptimize CrossBrowser ampamp CrossPlatform FunctionalityDifferent smartphones support different browsers that all have unique capabilities and limitations Your mobile site should be readable and functional regardless of the browser or platform on which it is being viewed For instance Android is the only smartphone whose native browser can support Flash so if you use this type of animation on your site many of your mobile visitors won39t be able to view it iPhone is the third most popular device in the US following Android and Blackberry respectively and while it has many rich computing capabilities like video streaming and gaming it does not support Flash or any other Adobe programsBlackberry which uses its own custom browser is a very popular phone but has limited capabilities in terms of rich media computing The upcoming Blackberry 60 operating system will be able to support Flash but until its use becomes more widespread sites optimized for Blackberry should not contain that type of animationTo make the most of your website redesign you should optimize with one or two specific browsers in mind Determine your target audience analytics can tell you what browsers and what mobile operating systems most people use to access your site If the majority of your visitors are using Blackberry or another businessfocused platform your site should have limited graphics and little or no animation In addition to Android users Windows Mobile users who have downloaded the Skyfire or Firefox browser can view Flash animation so you might be able to integrate some of these visual components if the majority of your visitors use those browsersImplementing the New SiteWhether you39re going to do a complete rebranding of your site or if you39re happy with most elements of your current website and just want to refresh it you need to optimize it for the future Once you39ve identified which operating systems and browsers most of your visitors use a web development team can update your site to HTML5 standards that suit the capabilities of those systems If for instance the majority of your visitors are Android users you may want to include a Flash video on your site When you have visitors who can39t stream Flash videos a browser sniffer can detect what browser they are using and display the version compatible to their device or just redirect them to a separate page with elements that their OS can displayThe use of HTML5 as your standard will allow you optimize your site for ease of use and future upgradesJohn Bosso is responsible for the Web Development team that builds and maintains cutting edge solutions for our web centric clients John is a seasoned development and program manager whose assignments have included Director of Program Management Senior Development Manager and Director of Production Engineering at companies and agencies including Vodafone Nimblefish DHAP Digital and Digital Impact He has focused on managing the overall engagement for web and mobile development projects for clients such as Adobe ATampampT Industrial Light and Magic Sears and the ToyotaLexusScion family of sites John has a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and Business Management from San Jose State University and is PMI certified John can be reached at jbossoredbricksmediacomRead all John39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at The BrickwireCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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