Vullo: Your business doesn't need a mobile site

Does your business need a mobile website? Maybe, but probably not.

If you had asked me seven or eight years ago I would have given you a different answer. I know it doesn't seem to make much sense, given how ubiquitous smartphones are today, but in addition to their rapid increase in use over time, other things have changed as well. In most cases there are simply better ways to spend your budget than building a mobile version of your site.

When Apple introduced the iPhone it triggered a fundamental shift in how web developers view the mobile web. They included a fully functional web browser that was identical in its capabilities to the desktop version.

Before this, cellphone web browsers displayed websites differently than desktops, and as such required web designers to think about them differently. This often meant building two different versions of a website.

Today's smartphones include full-fledged browsers, but making a mobile browser equivalent to a desktop browser wasn't enough in most cases to eliminate the need for a mobile site. After all, even the best smartphones must be physically small enough to fit in one's pocket, so there are issues of screen size. Add the introduction of tablet computers with new screen sizes and the notion of targeting websites to different screen sizes became more complex.

But there was a solution in the making.

As smartphones and tablets grew in popularity, new web standards were developed and introduced, notably HTML5 and CSS3. These new standards meant developers could adopt a different design strategy.

A universal approach to building web pages broke away from the traditional page layout technique, rooted in the paper world, and gave rise to a liquid layout approach, or responsive design, that automatically re-flows and renders a web page to the size, screen resolution and "zoom-level" of the user's device.

The new standards also incorporate media, like audio and video, thus eliminating the need for desktop browser plug-ins, which proved problematic on mobile devices.

So what does that mean for your small business as you consider the mobile web user?

First, you should plan on updating your website to use the liquid layout approach that is now considered best practice. This will make your web presence more accessible to the mobile user as well as making your site more usable on other platforms. And it's often not a terribly difficult change to make.

Second, you should consider incorporating social media into your web strategy. This also is an easy way to reach mobile customers who often have these apps installed and running on their phones.

As for a dedicated mobile site or app, that may make sense for some businesses, if there is a targeted service you offer, or wish to offer, that lends itself to a distinctly mobile use.

This week's Nextpert

Dr. Ronald P. Vullo is an associate professor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technologies at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Interested in becoming a Nextpert? Email us at RocNext@Democratand Chronicle.com.