Mobile-friendly isn't your friend

According to Joel Morrow, CEO of Mobile Fusion, “When on-the-go consumers access the Web [through a mobile device], the tasks they are trying to accomplish are materially different than the desktop Web.”

Many education marketers think that because their schools’ websites can be viewed on mobile devices, they have their bases covered when it comes to mobile. While these web experiences can be classified as mobile friendly, the experience to the user is less desirable than being on a PC. Mobile users have to scroll sideways or resize the window. In short, it’s not very user-friendly for mobile.

Now contrast this with a website built for mobile. A mobile-specific website is optimized for both mobile devices and mobile users. It’s designed to help them achieve the specific tasks they are trying to accomplish, quickly and easily. Here’s an example of what we mean.

Do you see how the navigation is built around icons? Icons are common to mobile devices and make it easy to navigate. Also, when you visit this mobile site, it looks just like this. You don’t have to resize the window or scroll.

What are mobile users searching for? PC users visiting school sites frequently visit programs and are more prone to browse through a larger portion of your site. Mobile users will more likely be focused on a few key pieces of information; therefore, it’s typically not necessary to translate your entire site over to mobile.

In other words, there’s a big difference between prospective students visiting your school site with a mobile device and those same students visiting your school site with a laptop or PC.

If you’re considering a mobile site, start with your analytics. Where is your mobile traffic currently going and how can you help them get there quickly and easily?

At PlattForm Advertising, we’re such big believers in the importance of mobile sites that we include one in the cost of developing a new school website. Your website is your #1 admission tool. The user experience has to be the best it can be.

So don’t get too excited when you hear, “mobile-friendly,” as it fails to deliver. What delivers is a mobile specific site with task-driven content that’s optimized for your site visitors visiting on mobile devices.

Have a perspective on mobile-friendly vs. mobile specific websites? Share it below.

Matt on Google+