Mobile Web and Tablets: Ready or Not, Here They Come

www.CommonPlaces.com © 2010 CommonPlaces e-Solutions, LLC

Mobile Web and Tablets: Ready or Not, Here They Come

Ben Bassi, CommonPlaces e-Solutions

CommonPlaces e-Solutions: Overview

• Open-source web development, online marketing and strategic planning firm

• Established in 1998

• Content management systems• E-Commerce• Social networks• Project management• Website security services• Social media + online

promotion• Mobile optimization +

applications


“Mobile optimization” defined

Building a website designed for the small screens of mobile phones and non-PC devices


Mobile web is rapidly growing

• Q4 2010 figures:– 100.9 million smartphone

shipments– 92.1 million PC shipments

• By 2014, tablets and smartphones will represent 64% of all computers


• 81% of smartphone users browse the internet

• 68% of smartphone users use an application

Mobile web is rapidly growing


Mobile consumer profile

• On-the-go

• Have phone with them at all times

• More willing to pay for content on mobile devices as opposed to PCs


The time to go mobile is now

• Mobile is no longer a promise, but a reality

• Mobile is where your customers are

• A mobile presence will help solve problems and increase profitability

• You’re losing money if you don’t have a mobile site

– PPC campaigns / geo-targeting– Subscription fees– Mobile revenue is mainly

comprised of premium content• User-paid 76%

– Compared to advertising and e-commerce driven desktop revenue

• Vendor and advertiser paid• User-paid 30%


Challenges mobile presents

• Smaller real estate with no display consistency

• Some devices don’t support flash and other proprietary display technologies

• Using only a portion of content from desktop website

• Potential lack of synchronization with desktop, tablets etc.


Solution: Several different approaches

1. Multi-site

– Multiple websites generated from a common database (content, images)

2. Multi-Client Adaptive Design

– Displays site differently depending on user’s device

3. Third party products

– Accesses website and detects when a mobile device is utilized. Creates a separate mobile website / user experience

4. Independent versions of site – Not recommended!


Multi-Site: Advantages

• Selective content published on main site is also published on mobile site

• Each site can have its own distinct functionality / purpose

• Or can share functionalities from one code base


Multi-Site: Disadvantages

• Degree of difficulty in set-up– Content types– Themes

• Need to have a CMS that supports multi-site

• Separate Theme required for each type of device


Multi-Client Adaptive Design


Screen resolution ranges from 320px (iPhone) to 2560px (large monitor)

Multi-Client Adaptive Design

• Advantages

– Theme adjusts to any resolution / size

– Great for publishing the same content on a multitude of devices

– Design is device independent

• Disadvantages

– Devices all have same functionality and content

– Disabling content creates unnecessary overhead on device

– Images have to be resized by the device

– Requires HTML5 & CSS3 media queries

Third party products

• Advantages– Ease of use– Can easily pick and choose what

content areas you want on mobile site

– Synchronizes most content – Can create distinct mobile theme

• Disadvantages– Cost of operating two distinct

systems– Content has to be previously

selected to synchronized– Lacks Authentication

Our recommendation

• Use Multi-Site if you desire different functionality or content types on different devices

• Use Multi-Client Adaptive if you desire to have the same content on multiple devices

• Use Third Party integration products if your content doesn’t change very much

• Stay away from separate independent sites


Mobile tips and best practices

• Ask yourself, “why would someone visit my mobile site?”

• Only provide the most important and relevant information

• Direct visitors to the activities they wish to do right away, in a short period of time


You’re not in this alone

• CommonPlaces can help generate and implement a strategy

[email protected]

603-329-5046

www.commonplaces.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bpbassi

Twitter: @BenBassi @cpopensource


http://www.commonplaces.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/bpbassi

http://www.linkedin.com/in/bpbassi

Technology

Mobile Web and Tablets: Ready or Not, Here They Come