Mobile Website Design Services.
Overview
A dedicated Mobile Website, or Web App, is a separate version of your desktop site with a front-end interface designed specifically for mobile devices. While Responsive Design has taken over as the most effective and efficient method of creating a mobile-friendly web presence, there are certain instances where a stand-alone mobile app may be required.
We can help you determine the best approach for going mobile. As experts in mobile trends and technology, we are able to consult on industry standards and best practices to ensure you are compliant with requirements for design, user experience and search engine optimization. Our goal is to help increase your return on investment and streamline the way you do business online.
Mobile Website Design Considerations
Time & Cost
Some businesses have really great desktop sites that they do not want to touch. They would rather build simplified versions for mobile. This is a logical approach; however, building and maintaining two separate sites can be expensive and time consuming so it should be analyzed carefully before making a decision.
A lot of effort goes into ensuring a mobile site and desktop site remain in sync and do not compromise the ability to convert visitors or build a strong SEO presence. We can analyze the nature of your business and help to determine the best solution for your needs.
Connection To Your Desktop Site
A critical component of a stand-alone mobile app is that it must be properly connected to your desktop site. A mobile site is hosted on a subdomain (e.g. m.yourdomain.com) while your desktop sites remains on your root domain (e.g. yourdomain.com). In order to create continuity between the two sites, code must be added to each page to show Google that the two sites are the same.
If this is not set up properly from the beginning or you break the connection at any point, Google may read the sites as two separated domains, in which case you may be penalized for duplicate content or create competition between the two.
Connection To Your Desktop Site
A critical component of a stand-alone mobile app is that it must be properly connected to your desktop site. A mobile site is hosted on a subdomain (e.g. m.yourdomain.com) while your desktop sites remains on your root domain (e.g. yourdomain.com). In order to create continuity between the two sites, code must be added to each page to show Google that the two sites are the same.
If this is not set up properly from the beginning or you break the connection at any point, Google may read the sites as two separated domains, in which case you may be penalized for duplicate content or create competition between the two.
Content Strategy
In order to satisfy both Google and your users, you should present the same content on your mobile site as on your desktop site. While it’s true that some visitors access mobile sites on the go, many use smartphones as their primary method of accessing the internet. Unless you’re a major brand (e.g. Amazon or Zappos) with confidence that you can present a trimmed down version of your website and not lose interest or sales, you’ll want to deliver mobile content that is as robust as your desktop site.
SEO Implications
Google prefers Responsive Websites, as they are read by search engines as single domains with one set of content. Mobile websites, on the other hand, often have content that is slightly varied or trimmed down, which can cause Google to question whether or not they are the same as their desktop counterparts. Your development team must proceed with caution when making changes to the code or adding new pages or content sections. If the connection with your desktop site is compromised it could wreak havoc on your SEO rankings.
