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Nathanael W. Frank, Jrwww.ricoteck.net

WHAT IS A MOBILE WEBSITE?

A version of a full website optimized specifically for smartphones and other mobile devices

Allows easy reading and navigation Created using code like HTML/CSS Typically located on subdomains of your main site (e.g.

mobile.yourdomain.com) Access using a smartphone's web browser

MOBILE WEB VS. MOBILE APPS

A mobile site is an extension of your main website

Contains repurposing content optimized for mobile viewing

Mobile Apps are another animal all together

There are two types of mobile apps:

Native Apps – Typically downloaded from an 'app store' and run on a specific smartphone (i.e. iPhone or Blackberry)

Web Apps – Mimic Native Apps but are built using JavaScript/HTML/CSS but are accessed via the Internet and run using the smartphone's web browser.

ADVANTAGES OF A MOBILE WEBSITE [1]

Easy to find

search engine

Using link or URL

Available on demand – no need for App Stores

Device independent

Not mobile specific – only needs a mobile device equipped with a web browser

Ideal for mobile marketing – Send information about your organization on-the-go.

Allows integrated advertising via Radio, TV, Print, Billboards, etc. with your mobile website allows your consumers to take action

ADVANTAGES OF A MOBILE WEBSITE [2]

Easy to integrate with web apps

Use as a menu for other web apps (e.g. symptom checkers and searchable directories) you make available to your healthcare consumers--providing a "one-stop-shop" for mobile users.

Less expensive (Relatively speaking)

Building and maintaining a mobile version of your website is less expensive than launching native apps that rely on app stores.

The wave of the future

With mobile Internet users projected to overtake desktop users in 2013, mobile sites are quickly becoming a "must have" rather than a "nice to have."

RULES OF THUMB

Keep you content simple

Reduce your content to include only the bare minimum needed to get your point across. With small screen sizes and limited attention spans, less is truly more when writing copy for mobile devices.

Focus on calls-to-action

Provide directions to Urgent Care or Emergency services

Access to online physician directories

Get updates on available health programs and other resources

Call-to-actions should be front and center on your mobile website.

Build in escalation

Always have a click-to-call option available for mobile users in case they have questions about your services or need to conduct a transaction that may be too cumbersome on a mobile device (like registering for a class or event). Providing phone numbers to specific service lines ensure a seamless transition from web to call center.

RESEARCH [1]

Plan for a mobile website that meets your healthcare customer’s needs, fulfills your business objectives, and integrate the features you need now and in the future.

Include features on your mobile site that will encourage users to:

Share

Interact

Locate your business

Meet user expectations

Mobile device users already know what they want when they get to a mobile website and are more likely to take action once they get there.

RESEARCH [2]

To plan for this type of user behavior, answer the following questions about potential visitors to your mobile site:

Why are they most likely coming to your site?

What information are they most likely seeking?

What types of actions are they most likely to take?

Ask the Consumer

Mailing lists

Online forms

Social networking connections

ESTABLISH GOALS

Mobile visitors do not use mobiles site the way they might on a PC, so have your immediate goals in mind when planning your mobile website and consider the resources you have to put toward your mobile site.

What are my immediate goals: Sell products, drive traffic to my location, generate leads?

How much money do I have to invest in the set up and maintenance of a mobile website?

How much time can I put toward the set up and maintenance of the site?

FEATURES

Mobile device users:

Access social media sites second only to search sites

Take action more often than PC users

Location motivated and oriented

Like to share information

Features must be considered based on research and established goals:

Click-to-call functionality

Links to your social media accounts

“Check-in” links for location-based services (like Yelp, Google Places, and Foursquare)

Google Maps

Ability to SMS (text message) your business

RESPONSIVE DESIGN

Responsive Web Design is the process in which content and/or layout that automatically adapts to the size of the screen on which it’s viewed.

Three primary elements of Responsive Design are a flexible grid, flexible images, and Media Queries, the latter introduced as a part of CSS3s.

Flexible grids - Basically themes and templates in which design elements are set in percentages rather than pixels.

Flexible images - Essentially this means that if an element (an image) is larger than its container, the rule forces it to match the width of that container (the screen).

The Media Query - Media Queries look at the device’s capabilities versus Media Types that are device specific

TOOLS

Most of the tools have graphical user interfaces and copy-and-paste code blocks that can be installed on your site quite easily.

Mobify

Wirenode

Mippin Mobilizer

Onmobile

Winksite

Mobile Press

iWebKit

jQTouch

Mobile Joomla!

Drupal Mobile Tools

WPTouch

mobiSiteGalore

Zinadoo

TESTING

Testing sites give a preview of how your website renders across multiple mobile platforms, but may also offer free performance reports as well as tips and resources to fix any issues that may come up.

MobiReady

Google GoMo

Gomez Cross-Device Performance Test

W3C mobileOK Checker

KEY POINTS

Establish your goals and objectives

Understand your Target Audience

Do your research

Pick the right Features

Use the right tools

Don't ignore the mobile healthcare consumer.

A website optimized for mobile devices ensures your consumers get the healthcare information they need, wherever and whenever they need it -- ultimately improving patient engagement.

SOURCES

Day, D. (2012). Building a Website with the Mobile Healthcare Consumer in Mind. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from Sirona Health: http://www.caretransitions.com/health_call_center_blog/bid/19281/Building-a-Website-with-the-Mobile-Healthcare-Consumer-in-Mind

Gube, J. (2010, December 16). 8 Tools For Easily Creating a Mobile Version of Your Website. Retrieved September 23, 2012, from Mashable : http://mashable.com/2010/12/16/create-mobile-site-tools/

Hay, D. (2012, March 28). 3 steps to a successful mobile website. Retrieved September 21, 2012, from SocialMedia.biz: http://socialmedia.biz/2012/03/28/3-steps-to-a-successful-mobile-website/

Nacul, E. (2012, May 10). Responsive Design 101. Retrieved September 24, 2012, from SpeckyBoy - Design Magazine: http://speckyboy.com/2012/05/10/responsive-design-101/