VISIONN Creative Marketing

By Robert Smith

Like thousands of other people, I just got my new Apple iPhone 3GS. And I have to say, it’s a pretty amazing mobile device. Can’t really call it a phone these days without pigeonholing it as something that performs a single function. Sure it’s a phone… but as with most phones, it’s a lot more than just that.

I find myself browsing the internet and using the apps more now. Maybe it’s because this is my first exposure to the speed of 3G (I had a 2G iPhone for two years before this upgrade), or maybe it’s the faster processor in the new iPhone. Maybe it’s both. In any case, I don’t hesitate to use Safari or an app like I did before based on my experience with the connection speed.

Let’s face it… mobile internet usage is growing and fast. When the iPhone was first introduced, it offered a whole new mobile browser experience, and it was obvious that mobile browsing was going places. And with this growth, it’s become very apparent that browsers for mobile devices need to be considered in today’s world of Web development. Only a few years ago, mobile platforms didn’t account for much of the Web traffic. Today, that has changed dramatically, and it will only continue to grow in the near future and beyond. I did some looking into the numbers. In studies conducted by ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com), they predicted the growth of web usage to continue over the next 5 years, with highly capable internet browsers on smartphones expanding from 130 million in 2008 to 530 million by 2013.

Even though apps are part of the solution for mobile browser compatibility, they can only replace a portion of the traffic for a Web site, and its still additional development for the company to have an app in addition to their Web site. (Same goes for mobile versions of Web sites.) The point to note here is not every company will have a mobile app (or mobile version of their site), but nearly every company has a Web site. And that Web site really needs to be compatible with mobile browsers.

Consider that developing Web sites that are compliant with Web standards is a first step of the compatibility solution for mobile browsers. Handsets with internet browsing are becoming more sophisticated, and when a site is developed using Web standards as the foundation, it can provide a more consistent user experience across many platforms; handsets included. If a site isn’t built using Web standards, there might be some serious limitations to what mobile users are able to access on the site. That could be the difference in gaining or losing customers for many different types of businesses, both large and small.

Additionally, functions that require browser plug-ins such as Flash, are still limited at this time because the plug-ins aren’t available for some of the most popular mobile browsers. Will these plug-ins be available for these mobile browsers soon? Maybe. But keep in mind that it might be a good idea to limit or avoid the use of elements like Flash for important site functions like the main navigation menu or primary page content.

ABI Research director, Michael Wolf, suggests that mobile users are an important segment. “The focus today for mobile browser developers is to take advantage of the latest Web standards while also developing solutions tailored towards the unique experience of using a browser on a mobile phone.” he said. Wolf also added, “The increase in awareness of the web on mobile devices – due to the iPhone and new RIM models – has helped…, as has the continued move towards flat-rate data plans by many mobile operators.”

Does this all create more responsibility for the Web developer? Sure it does. But the bottom line is that it’s important to consider mobile platforms when developing sites and in updating sites. Mobile browsers are here now and are growing in popularity and usage. How important are they for your Web site?