We certainly shouldn’t underestimate the development of mobile versions of websites these days. Statistics clearly show that cutting corners in this area doesn’t always pay off. Whilst in January 2011, 4% of users were viewing websites via mobile devices, a year later the figures had doubled. That is no longer a negligible figure. Out of 10,000 users, those 8% could be your 800 potential customers. This growth trend is not expected to slow down; on the contrary, the use of smartphones and the popularity of tablets will continue to rise.
We now live in an age of diverse screens. We have giant monitors on our desks, we take laptops and other small gadgets with us on business trips, we look at tablets whilst relaxing on the sofa or on public transport, and we always have smartphones with a constant internet connection to hand. It is precisely tablets and smartphones that are becoming increasingly widespread today. It won’t be long before everyone has a phone with a large screen and a web browser.
But that is precisely the problem. How do you get a website designed for a laptop screen to fit on a mobile phone? It simply won’t fit, leaving us to swipe back and forth with our fingers just to find the information we need. Solutions do exist.
Websites for mobile phones
The first and fairly simple solution is to create a version of the website optimised for mobile phones. Usually, a new design and layout are created for the existing site. Data-heavy elements that aren’t particularly essential in terms of content are reduced. Thanks to device detection, the user is then shown the page in the appropriate format.
On a mobile phone, the user is redirected to a streamlined version that is not data-intensive, and everything works smoothly even on a slow mobile connection. Similarly, the website can be displayed correctly on a tablet.
Example of the website displayed in its desktop and mobile versions for LIAD s.r.o.
Usually, the mobile version is at a URL that uses ‘m’ instead of the ‘www’ prefix. Users can therefore switch between versions themselves in the footer of the page if the version automatically presented to them is not suitable.
Such optimisation is now an expected standard. Large news portals in particular have invested in their mobile versions, and it is precisely these sites that have seen the most significant increase in traffic from mobile devices.
Responsive web design
Another option is responsive web design, also known as adaptive web design. This involves dynamically changing the appearance of the pages and adapting them according to the current window size. The method is more demanding in terms of both design and implementation, but the result is well worth it. We can create a bespoke design so that the display area is always utilised perfectly. This solution was chosen, for example, by an online magazine dedicated to web design – www.smashingmagazine.com (try resizing your browser window).
The website can adapt flexibly. The display will be correct regardless of whether you’re using a mobile phone, a tablet or a computer with a Full HD screen. However, the investment in such a solution is significantly higher, and it’s up to each individual to decide which solution to choose.