You've probably heard the phrases "responsive design" and "mobile-friendly" tossed around the boardroom--and with good reason, too. You see, the web is progressing quickly toward putting more emphasis on good user experience (and less on tables and beveled buttons) and it has been for quite some time. Not only are Google's algorithms shifting to favour content that users enjoy the best (and interact with the best), businesses are feeling the pressure to make sure their site is working well for their customers.

That's the primary reason why businesses are concerned with investing in a responsive or mobile website: user experience. If the usability of a site is low, you can bet the user rate follows suit; think of user experience (in this topic) as an extension of your customer experience. With the growing percent of all web traffic coming from devices of all widths and capabilities, it's become increasingly more important to make sure your users (customers and potential customers) are able to access your site easily regardless of their device.

There are a couple ways to address this issue, primarily the following two: you can build a website that is responsive, meaning that it will function (through varying its layout) on any device, or you can build a separate mobile website--in addition to your existing company website--for your mobile users.

Why you would want to build a responsive website

Without going too much into detail as far as the debate over native and non-native development is concerned, responsive website design does have several major benefits:

  • It's easier to manage because you have a single data source
  • It can adapt to in-between/odd resolutions
  • It can be used in conjunction with other solutions, such as native apps
  • There's no need to build an entirely new mobile website or app to support mobile users
  • It might have a longer lifespan than mobile sites that are build contingent on specific device features

If you’re building a completely new website, I highly recommend you try out a responsive site with a mobile-first approach. If you already have a large website built with lots of content and functionality, converting your site into a responsive site can be a very costly and daunting task. Building a distinct mobile-only site first might be a good temporary solution; just be sure to still provide a link to the desktop website.

Why you would want to build a mobile website

Mobile websites (and apps) are an excellent route to take when you have a specific purpose, such as needing access to the user's contact list or camera. But if your goal is to simply provide a better user experience to your mobile users, your primary benefits for building a separate mobile website are as follows:

  • A separate mobile site can be cheaper (than redesigning responsively)
  • It might be quicker to implement (quick-fix)
  • It might be more effective if your website/webapp requires very different user input on mobile than on your main desktop website (for example, if there are additional interactions your users can take on mobile)
  • It's a good solution if your desktop website loads a large amount of data up front
  • Mobile sites have most native benefits, such as increased effectivity from being designed specifically for that device without compromises

If you’re building a separate mobile website, do not assume what users will need (I guarantee you will assume incorrectly). Instead, check your site’s stats to see what most mobile users currently do on your site. Do user testing with focus groups (these can be quite informal if need be). Then (and only then), determine what will be included in the mobile website. The last thing you want to do is build a mobile website that frustrates or annoys your users even more than using the desktop site on their mobile device. If a large number of users click the “view the full desktop website” link, you’ve likely excluded something crucial from your mobile website.

Consider the direction of technology first

When looking to refresh your company website, it's important to have a feel for where technology has taken your users since your last site design. Where do you draw the line with a mobile website (ie. when do you know to direct a user to the mobile experience)? Is the mobile site just for iPhones (what happens if iPhones change size in the future)? What about tablets (do they get the mobile experience or the native experience, or something custom)? Consider how your website can provide the best user experience while balancing your own requirements. Doing your homework here can mean much better results for your corporate website.

Are you considering a website refresh? Will you be going full-on responsive? Or taking the mobile-apart approach? Which do you see is the most beneficial to your users?