It’s Time to Go Mobile: RWD, Mobile Sites and Mobile Apps from We Blog Better

It’s Time to Go Mobile: RWD, Mobile Sites and Mobile Apps

Posted: 05 Jan 2014 09:00 PM PST

It's Time to Go Mobile We're now witnessing a huge shift to mobile browsing, and it doesn't show signs of slowing down. In 2014, the amount of individuals using tablets and mobiles to access the Internet is expected to increase at a rapid rate. This means that websites inaccessible from mobiles can lose a significant portion of visitors or even go out of business.

Luckily for website owners, building a touch-friendly version of an existing site isn't as daunting as they might think. There are many online tools, site builders and freelance professionals out there willing to help you make your website future-friendly :). The most crucial step is to decide what type of mobile friendliness your business needs: responsive design, independent mobile site or perhaps a mobile application. This brief post details the pros and cons for each option.

RWD

Responsive web design is one of the leading trends. And it's no accident that many are aiming to create responsive sites: they automatically adapt themselves to the viewing environment and don't require building separate websites. This means you will have the same website for desktop, tablet and mobile viewers. You'll have to build a single website that will be resized each time when someone accesses it from a device with a smaller screen.

Mobile Solution from Wix Website Builder

Pros: You will get all your traffic in one place. It will be easier to optimize and update (when you have a separate mobile site, you'll have to update it separately).

Cons: It's more expensive than mobile sites. They're also heavier than mobile sites.

Mobile Sites

Mobile sites are similar to their desktop versions, but are lighter and faster. Usually, they contain less content and are optimized for specific industry-related goals: selling, subscribing, sharing and other experiences that require quick decisions.

Pros: Mobile sites are cheaper. They load faster.

Cons: Your traffic will be divided between the desktop and mobile sites. When you update your desktop site the changes won't be seen in the mobile version. You need to update it separately.

Mobile Applications

Mobile applications can also be an excellent solution. They are created by professional iOS/Android devs and then uploaded to a marketplace such as Google Play for instance. You may give them away free or for a fee.

iOS App by Jimdo Website Builder

Pros: Perfect for businesses creating games and other interactive web resources. Mobile apps may work without access to the Internet, while both responsive and mobile options require stable connection.

Cons: Aren't good for marketing-related sites and websites that are often updated.

Hope these thoughts will help you make an informed choice. Informed means armed :).

Important note for the novice: If you still don't have a website, but you're looking to build one and you're dead set on making it responsive in future, my advice is to select the platform that offers responsive templates, like Zoho Sites or IMCreator for instance. By doing so, you'll get a responsive site without lifting a finger from the start. You will find more website builders offering this feature in my post Responsive Design and Website Builders.

The post It’s Time to Go Mobile: RWD, Mobile Sites and Mobile Apps appeared first on Weblogbetter.