The Need for Mobile Optimization

This is definitely a NEED not a want.

Being in a profession of constant change I am always reading someone's blog, tutorial or latest trends in various subsets of the web.  Most of the time I just fire up Google Reader and start reading.  However, over the past 6 months I have found myself using my iPhone as my "reader" of choice.  Partly because of the convenience factor and in addition, I don't have to carry my laptop around everywhere I go.  Outside of Google Reader one of the best sources that I have for great articles are from some of the big names in web development that I follow on Twitter.

However, the sites and articles that people are linking to are still optimized for a standard browser, not the mobile experience which is HIGHLY annoying.  It is not that I am too lazy to wait for the page to load, but the lack of patience that I have for the delay in the page to finish loading due to 30+ stylesheets requested, some ad tracking pixel or any number of other tasks that are processing that have ZERO to do with what I, the user, is trying to accomplish.  What I find myself doing more and more is using the mobile app functionality of emailing the link to myself so that I can read it when I do get back to my laptop.

Should this mean that companies should have a regular/mobile site?  There is no right or wrong answer for that.  You have to do research and look at your visitor trends and who your target audience is.  I would venture to say that if you are a news organization then the answer would be yes.  However, even though currently you might have a low percentage of mobile visitors that number will only increase over time and your site should at the bare minimum be optimized for a mobile browsing experience.

Posted via email from Cory Wiles Blog