Johannesburg, 16 Jan 2015
Let's assume you already have a desktop Web site which doesn't work well on mobile devices. It loads slowly and users need miniature fingers to access navigation and buttons, not to mention needing to scroll horizontally and zoom in and out to see what's actually there.
So, you need your Web site to work on mobile devices and be readable, but where to from here?
There are two options: a responsive Web site or a standalone mobi site.
Responsive Web site
A responsive design allows your "desktop" Web site to adjust its layout based on the device's browser width. The appeal of this is that it is a one brand, one code-base, one domain approach. In other words, you have one Web site that will adjust itself for a better user experience across all device sizes, be that desktop, tablet or mobile phone.
It will look similar in terms of branding to the main desktop site and will use the same content because it's one Web site, one code-base.
The site will also use the same domain name, which means no clever redirect and detection scripts are required or any maintenance thereof. This also results in better search engine optimisation as you won't lose ranking or clicks based on having a separate mobile domain.
However, one problem that can filter through while browsing on mobile devices could be load times, as the same content that is being loaded into the mobile device is the same content that gets loaded when browsing the desktop version.
The current trend we are seeing more and more of is the adoption of a design that is first and foremost a great mobile experience, and then scaling this up for desktop viewing. This approach is seeing cleaner, sleeker and faster mobile user experiences.
"Building a responsive Web site is great if you're building a new Web site and code-base from scratch and highly recommended as the way to go. You only need to maintain one Web site," explains Gavin Curtis, UI & Usability Expert at Concero IT.
What if you already have a really large Web site and want to retrofit it to be responsive? Changing an already established code-base could be a huge expense and this is why companies often choose to build a separate mobi site instead and keep their desktop site as is.
Mobi Web site
Mobi Web sites have a few distinct advantages of their own.
The site can be comprehensively customised for a unique mobile experience that is very different from the desktop Web site. Because the code-base is different, the actual content delivered can be tailored and readability can be improved for mobile viewing.
HTML5 can be taken full advantage of without the need to support a code-base for legacy browsers and images can be optimised for a faster, better viewing experience.
"This sounds good, so shouldn't I just build a mobi site for mobile devices then?"
Curtis reiterates: "This really depends on the application. If you have enough resources to maintain two Web sites and have the need to deliver tailored content to mobile users, then yes, mobi would be the way to go. Otherwise, no."
Mobi has its flaws and we're seeing fewer and fewer mobi domain Web sites being developed.
Maintenance of two sites can be laborious and requires a larger team, possibly split into two. Dilution of search results is a reality. Cross-linking between the sites to redirect to mobile can become tricky, not to mention that mobi sites need continuous maintenance and are not as future-proof as responsive sites when mobile technology and devices are changing all the time.
Embracing new technologies
For Concero IT, it makes sense to take advantage of the latest and greatest in a responsive, mobile-first design approach. It simplifies content management and SEO strategies for the company's clients, and with a good design and development team in place, creates a great desktop as well as mobile user experience.
Concero is a specialist Microsoft SharePoint service provider and although responsive, mobile-first is its adopted approach, using optimisation techniques such as adaptive Web design improves the overall mobile user experience.
"Apart from great search and social capabilities, SharePoint 2013 also puts mobile front and centre and Concero IT takes advantage of these features for a better browsing experience," says Henri Fourie, CEO of Concero IT.
One of these features is the ability to present different images to difference devices using Image Renditions. By using Image Renditions, you can have large images stored in your Web site and then define a number of scaled variants to be used throughout the Web site. SharePoint 2013 does not only allow you to re-size these variants, but to crop them as well.
Responsive design, image renditions and the ability to add geolocation tags to lists makes SharePoint 2013 a powerful platform for both desktop Web sites and mobile experiences alike.
In addition to responsive design with SharePoint, a new feature introduced in SharePoint 2013 is Device Channels, which allows you to render a single publishing site in multiple ways by using different designs that target different devices, ie, a mobi site. SharePoint gives you the flexibility of a responsive or a mobi site.
Which one is right for your business and how do you choose? That depends on your users' needs. It is all about their experience. A great desktop and mobile experience equals a good return on your investment.
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