3 tips on creating a small business mobile website

By 2014 it's estimated there will be more than 1 billion smart-phone users worldwide, according to digital market researchers Parks Associates.

That means more and more consumers will be looking for information fast and at their fingertips.

So if you haven't yet made your corporate website mobile-friendly, you could be missing out on a huge segment of the market, say experts.

"The mobile web is making everything closer, putting directions in the palm of your hand, real-time transactions at your fingertips," says Janine Warner, author of Mobile Web Design for Dummies (Wiley; $24.99) and founder of Los Angeles-based DigitalFamily.com, a web-design training site. "If you believe mobile will change everything, then you want to make sure your message, your brand, your business are accessible from mobile devices."

Whether you recognize it or not, it's likely your customers are already coming to your website via mobile devices.

Any decent analytics reporting tool (i.e., Google Analytics) can tell you that, says Andrew Hazen, founder of Prime Visibility, a Melville digital marketing firm. 

1. Plan a strategy. "If more than 2 percent of your customers are accessing your site from a mobile device and that trend is growing, you need to plan your mobile strategy before it's too late," says Hazen.

At the very least, make sure your regular website is readable on most smart phones. For instance, if there are too many heavy graphics or images on your corporate site, it could have trouble loading on a mobile device, says Hazen. The same applies if you designed your website with Flash, which may not be readable on certain devices like iPhones and iPads, he notes.

Look at your website through the eyes of a mobile user, suggests Warner, who offers mobile design tips at her digitalfamily.com site.

You may find your corporate site is satisfactory as is, or you may opt to create a simplified alternate version for the mobile web, says Warner. 

2. Know your clients. To start, you really need to know your clients and what they're looking for, notes Chris Pervelis, president of CGP Creative Inc., a marketing and advertising firm in Centereach.

"Understand what they come to your normal website for and what you think they'd come to your mobile website for," he says.

This will help you pare down the most pertinent information, he notes. Remember, mobile screens are smaller so you have a lot less real estate to work with. "You don't want to waste a pixel," says Pervelis. For instance, a restaurant may just want basics like directions, location and hours of operation on its mobile site. 

3. Simplify. Keep it simple, he recommends. Optimally, stick to a one column layout that allows users to scroll in one direction, usually up and down, he says.

Make your phone number easy to find and dial, adds Warner, noting most sites bury the phone number in tiny print at the bottom of the screen or on a contact page two clicks away.

In addition, make sure your site loads quickly and works on as many browsers as possible, says Hazen. Mobile users have little patience, he notes.

Michael Vittorio Esposito, owner of Vittorio's Restaurant and Wine Bar in Amityville, understands this, and that's why he has a standard site, vittorios.biz, as well as a mobile version, www.vittorios.mobi.

"It's definitely a necessity," says Esposito. "I haven't been on a PC in months. I really do a lot of my business over my phone."

And he expects his customers do as well, which is why the mobile site allows users easy accessibility to pertinent information including the restaurant's menu and directions, he notes. His newest eatery, Vero in Amityville, will also have a mobile site.

"Whoever has a business, needs to get with the program with the mobile revolution," he says. 

Fast fact: From 2008 to 2010, the number of mobile websites grew from 150,000 to 3.01 million. 

Source: DotMobi