Domain names and websites go hand-in-hand but the popularity of mobile devices has added even more layers to the development process.
Recent statistics from Trinity Digital Marketing show that there are over 1.2 billion people accessing the internet from mobile devices.
These devices also account for close to 10% of all global website hits and will continue to rise.
“Mobile phone sales have skyrocketed in the past decade due to significant advances in technology and new innovative trends in the market,” the company’s Rise of Mobile infographic explains.
“Web devices have begun to reshape every aspect of our society,” it says, going on to outline that there are “currently more than 6 billion mobile subscribers, equating to more than 87% of the world population.”
What’s more is that other companies working in this domain, such as Smart Insights Marketing, have predicted that mobile internet access could overtake fixed access as soon as 2014.
These statistics are incredibly relevant to anyone with a domain or website – whether it is established, recently launched or still in development – as mobile websites are starting to become as essential as traditional options.
How Are Mobile Websites Different?
While mobile devices are able to access whole websites, the formatting and structure of a traditional webpage is not ideal for smartphones or tablets.
What may look clean and sharp from a desktop or laptop computer, for example, will most likely appear messy and confusing from a mobile phone or tablet.
That’s where mobile websites come into play. Web designs for mobile basically optimise the structure so that it is easier to read and navigate from a mobile phone or tablet computer.
Development and design for mobile websites, is however, a growing field and as a result, there are a few options you can consider if you want to launch a mobile version of your website.
WordPress, for example, offers a free plugin called WPTouch that helps create a mobile website “with just a few clicks”.
“We created WPtouch to be a lightweight, fast-loading, feature-rich mobile plugin to add a theme shown to mobile visitors,” WordPress outlines.
“The plugin includes an admin panel for customizing many aspects of your site’s presentation when showing the mobile theme.”
Similarly, many other web hosting companies offer mobile website creation apps, plugins and tools that are either free or available for an additional cost. You could also discuss mobile design options with any current developers you are working with to decide on a convenient option for your website.
While setting up a website used to be a simple matter of buying a domain and getting someone to design just one site, the widespread use of mobiles is changing things.
But considering mobile websites now will make sure you have everything in place if (or when) mobile internet access does take over.