I have a secret: I hate mobile sites.
Okay, not all of them. I love that Amazon lets me find and buy pretty much anything with one touch. (Which, by the way, is a pretty smart sales strategy too.) And StubHub’s screen navigation makes changing or updating listings very easy.
These are e-commerce sites. They do what they’re supposed to do really well.
However (you knew this was coming)…
Mostly I just want to read the text, see the pictures, follow the links, surf a site. And most mobile sites still suck at this. I never load MSNBC on anything mobile, including my 10-inch tablet, because it offers no way to access the full site. (Okay, not getting MSNBC might not be a loss–but their advertisers might disagree.)
What Makes a Mobile Page Shine?
At the recent Direct Marketing Association of Washington Social Summit, Jon Bailey defined four elements of a good mobile page:
- It appears automatically.
- It has thumb-proof navigation.
- There are limited choices designed for mobile users.
- It is fast loading.
Bailey added that mobile sites have to be “laser-focused on the user experience.”
That means (in my opinion) that if your users want full-site access, the option should be there.
Like, hate, or indifferent to the mobile experience? And what are the best examples you’ve seen lately?
Photo by Lachlan Hardy (Flickr).
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Daria,
Mobile sites need to provide an experience unlike desktop. The size of the screen is small which makes the navigation difficult and hence it needs better design. I recently wrote about how to have a different experience for users on a different medium. http://aks-blog.com/2012/07/11/sequel-offer-something-different/.
Ashvini recently posted..Small probability is still better than none
Hi Ashvini,
Most mobile sites definitely need better design, and you make a great point in your post about Facebook desktop vs. Facebook mobile (and similarly for other businesses).
I think mobile sites need to be re-imagined in ways that most of us just aren’t seeing yet. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that news sites suck the worst; this is the same industry that’s still tying its revenue to print subscriptions.
Daria Steigman recently posted..Should Your Klout Score be a Deal Breaker?