Build a mobile site from scratch
According to
StatCounter, some 18 per cent of all global web searches are now performed on
mobile devices, so it’s important to have a version of your webs ite that will
display properly on smartphones and tablets.
Heart Internet’s goMobi
Mobile Website Builder (www.heartinternet.co.uk/mobile-website-builder)
lets you create a mobile site with fast-loading pages and automatic device
detection. You don’t need to know anything about coding sites for mobile
hardware because the service has a brilliant wizard to guide you through the
creation process, and there’s a choice of attractive templates on offer.
The goMobi Mobile
Website Builder costs £3.99 a month, but there’s an online demo you can play
around with to make sure you're comfortable with the tool before you sign up.
Optimize your current site for mobile
Tidio Mobile (www.tidiomobile.com) transforms your existing site into
a mobile version in seconds. Just enter your web address and it will load the
content, and intelligently build a mobile site for you. You can edit the logo,
menu and template afterwards. You’ll need to register (using you email address,
or Facebook or Google details) to save the results, Although the free service
will be fine for most users. Tidio Mobile can create a professional mobile site
for £249, and there are E-commerce Pro (349) and Premium Pro (E549) plans
available, too.
Whichever option you go
for (even the free building tool). you’ll need a monthly Tid io Mobile
subscription. Prices start from £7a month.
Ensure your mobile site is responsive
Responsive web design is
all about crafting sites so that they deliver an optimal viewing experience on
different screen sizes. You'll want to make sure your site works on as many
devices as possible, and rather than trying to view the site manually on
multiple screens, you can use a testing tool such as Dimensions (www.dlmenslonsdpp.com). Just click the Start Testing
button, enter the site URL and hit Test. You can also test your site offline
using the Dimensions Chrome app (bit.ly/dimensions330).
Test the performance of your site
Your website might load wonderfully fast when accessed on a PC or tablet over a wired or wireless network, but what If someone wants to view it on a smartphone on a 3G (Or worse still 2G) connection? Studies have shown that people will bail on a site that takes too long to load on a mobile, and if you do keep people waiting, there’s a very good chance they won’t come back. There are lots of tricks you can perform to ensure your site loads quickly on a smartphone (building a mobile-optimized site being the obvious one) but how can you tell exactly how long your creation will take to load? The answer is to usea service like Akamai Mobitest (mobitest.akamai.corn) which records loading speeds on a variety of actual devices Tests mostly take place in the US, so bear in the mind the site will likely load a bit quicker when accessed in the UK.
