Should you choose a Mobile Website design or iPhone application?
Have you noticed more visitors visiting your website from mobile devices?
The Sensis® e-Business Report 2010 showed mobile internet usage almost doubled in the past year, with Australians turning to their phones to access the internet even when a computer may be available.
You browse the web from your phone but increasingly you also download iPhone applications. So which is right for your organisation – a mobile website, or an iPhone application?
Aidan Robertson, Senior Multimedia and Web Designer at Queensland Art Gallery, faced a similar challenge this year.
‘An increasing number of gallery visitors were accessing our site from mobile devices. We were looking to draw in a younger audience, many of whom have iPhones and Android devices. Our existing site was virtually unreadable on a mobile device, and navigation was almost impossible since touch phones don’t handle rollover menus well.’
The project got off the ground when the executive team asked for an iPhone application. ‘Everyone pushes an iPhone app…although iPhone applications generally pull information from a website anyway. Most of the information we wanted to display on a smartphone already existed on our website.
‘IPhone applications are popular in part because there is little mobile web design out there. Very few websites are mobile friendly so people get frustrated using their phone to browse the Internet.
‘However, mobile apps require development for a variety of smartphone platforms. We would have to build for the iPhone, then next year Android, possibly Blackberry, and then maybe Symbian.
‘Initially we went for a new standalone site with a tailored mobile web design, focused on key content extracted from our Squiz Matrix CMS. Our requirements included no ongoing maintenance for the mobile website, automatic redirection to the mobile website from a mobile device and initial optimisation for iPhones and Android.’
After the initial mobile site rollout, Queensland Art Gallery looked for a way to enhance a visitor's experience inside the Gallery. The use of barcodes was considered as a way of allowing visitors to point and click a mobile device for more information on selected artworks and tour information.
Any QR barcode reader can scan barcodes around the gallery but QAG also decided to develop an iPhone application, which includes a branded QR barcode reader. Barcodes were not held on the website which was one of the drivers for an iPhone application. The iPhone app also allows access to video content such as artist interviews and interactive tours on the artworks.
When looking at an IPhone app think about what’s in it for your customer. A supermarket mobile application, linked to a rewards scheme, could provide customized offers while in store. For government an application could help customers’ record expenses for tax purposes whilst on the go.
Should your organisation have an iPhone application, a mobile web site or both? Whichever way you go it pays to seek help with a mobile web design optimised for a mobile device or advice on what features are more suitable for an iPhone application.
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