Since people have started using the smartphones, they started accessing their favorite websites on the move. The mobile web browsers have also seen a lot of development and are offering a lot advanced CSS and HTML support than they used to. Many companies have realized the potential of mobile user market and started to make their website available for the cell phone users. However, mobile web offers a completely different environment and how the companies will adapt their website depends upon the services they offer. For instance, Amazon is a renowned ecommerce website and their mobile web strategy is completely different from BBC. If Amazon wants to simplify the shopping cart for mobile users, BBC wants to cater more news and improve the readability.

As every website has its own purpose, it’s a complicated thing to decide which type of cell phone support will be best for your business. Each type of mobile web adaption has its advantages and disadvantages. You should learn about the variety of mobile web support first and then decide which will be helpful for you.

Keep the full site without major changes- It’s the easiest and fastest thing to make a website mobile ready. Your main aim is to make the website visible and workable in the mobile browser. It will look more or less like the original site and will offer the same navigation process. Most modern mobile browsers such as Opera Mini and Bitstream Bolt offer great CSS support. So, you won’t face many problems to fit the desktop version of the website in the mobile browser.

How to do it- All you need to do is, simple changes in the CSS to fit the mobile phones’ small screen size. Adjust the text size and viewpoint to improve the visibility in the mobile screen. Modify the meta elements and the CSS to make the site mobile ready. However, while making changes in the CSS, be careful that the desktop users don’t see anything unusual, such as large fonts or disorganized menu bar.

Advantages

• The modification process can be done in a short time.

• You are keeping the main desktop design, only coding needs to be modified.

• The main website offers a lot more features than a ‘mobile only’ version.

Disadvantages

• It will be bad for user experience due to the portable devices’ small screen space.

• Download will take much longer time and consume more data.

• Navigation process is not meant for mobile users and very difficult to handle.

Adaptive layout using media queries- It’s a great process to develop responsive design. The website adapts the environment of different mobile phones and utilize the given screen space. Media queries will let you do these modifications and they are supported by modern browsers.

How to do it- Using the media query in the CSS, you can order it to adapt certain screen size. For example, if you set the screen width 480px then the layout will fit the mentioned screen space. It will squeeze the website and make it linear to show the information vertically. Whatever content your full website has will be displayed in a vertical way. You have to restrict the images as well, so that they don’t take any extra space.

Advantages

• If you plan it from the early stage of your main website, it’s faster to develop.

• You don’t need to design anything additionally, so the cost is low.

• The user experience and readability is much better in this format.

Disadvantages

• The media queries are not supported by older version of browsers.

• The layout becomes linear and thus it will take some time for the users to adapt it.

• The website rendering will be slower.

Develop a separate mobile website- This one is a very popular style to cater the mobile audience. A dedicated mobile website is much more optimized and offers the things required for the mobile users. You need to do some research and prioritize the things that you should show on the mobile website. For example, if you checked www.facebook.com and m.facebook.com, then you must have seen a lot of difference between the two UI.

How to do it- When the users type the full site URL in the mobile browser, the system will direct them to the mobile site. It will offer a richer and compact user experience. However, in the mobile site always give a link to access the full site. This can be seen in the mobile.twitter.com. As you don’t have much space, mobile websites only offer the most essential and popular content.

Advantages

• The performance is much better, as the mobile websites are developed solely for the mobile phone environment.

• The whole site is made from scratch and thus it offers better optimized navigation.

• You will be able to serve the mobile phone users separately.

Disadvantages

• It’s a new website and will cost you a lot.

• The development stage is time consuming.

• If the layout has major differences from the main site, users won’t like it.

Develop a dedicated app- The final option to make your website available for the cell phone users is to develop an app. An app for your business will suit every type of mobile handset and OS. It will give the users exactly what they want, without even typing the URL on the browser.

How to do it- The approach of an app is completely different from a website. It uses the device’s features effectively and offers the best user experience possible. Apps try to fulfill the user’s objectives in a faster way. Content is secondary and user goal is primary in the mobile apps. To develop an app you should use an SDK.

Advantages

• Apps offer a better performance in all major mobile OS.

• You don’t need a browser to access the website.

• It’s very lightweight. It loads very fast and consumes minimum data.

Disadvantages

• Developing a native app is time consuming.

• If you want to make the app available for every mobile OS, you need their permission.

Conclusion- The first two process to optimize a site for mobile users are the fastest and easiest. But that does not mean that you should only follow them. The mobile website and app may take longer time to develop but they offer a more synchronized UI and better usability. When you optimize your website for mobile phone users, follow the model that suits your business the best.

Author Bio: Webguru India has been a pioneer in the field of website design and seo services since 2005. We have written and published numerous articles on web design, graphic design, web development and SEO and internet marketing.