Every website owner understands that in today’s world, where we are all connected to our mobile/desktop/tablet all day long, all website must be responsive. But is that enough or do you need to create a mobile dedicated website? Let’s try to solve this issue.
Responss.. what? Responsive. Which means the website respond to the display it is seen at and adjust itself for the best view. So, if you look at a website on desktop it looks one way, and if you look at it on mobile it looks differently.
The site management is on one admin panel that controls all versions.
So why it is so important:
- Everybody has smartphones. Most users today use mobile to surf the web. The smartphone’s technology got better and better and we are constantly connected to our mobiles.
- Google search affected. It’s a fact. Google doesn’t support, or less support, websites that are not responsive. Your website organic search results are directly affected from the site responsiveness.
If you want to go even one step forward, you can also create a MOBILE dedicated website. The user experience will be even better, but you will need to manage two sites and not one. And yes of course, it costs more.
So how do I know which version is best for me? It all depends on the content of your site:
Adverting areas: If your website has many advertising areas, it is better to create a mobile dedicated website, as the responsive websites are not so good with adjust the advertising areas. In a dedicated mobile website, you can create special areas for mobile banners.
Content: if you have a portal, index or any other website with a lot of content, you can understand that not all information shown on a wide desktop screen, can be there on a mobile version. You will need to focus on smaller amount of information for the mobile site.
Online shopping: This must be the most significant reason to create two websites.
The online shopping experience is completely different on smartphones and desktops. While on desktop you can show many items at once, on mobile that user will need to swipe to see more products.
So, to sum things up, if you have a simple and informative website, a responsive version will be the easiest and cheapest solution for your website.
If you are the owner of a complicated website, eCommerce website or portal, it is better to create a mobile dedicated website.