Mobile

Mobile-friendly impact

So Google announced earlier this year that they’d be introducing further changes to their algorithm to penalise sites that aren’t mobile-friendly, leading many to adopt the phrase Mobilegeddon, in the run up to the implementation on the 21st April. But I can’t help thinking that for all the fanfare and the massess of online discussions about how this could ruin many online businesses, it all ended up being a bit of a damp squib or a latter day Y2K-style issue.

Yes, it was probably more important for high-traffic B2C sites, particularly social media, news and ecommerce platforms that naturally lend themselves to their content being digested on the move via mobile devices. But for B2B sites or even lower traffic blogs (like mine!) I can’t help thinking that the whole impact was over-egged and resulted in significant discussion, research and reworking of websites in the run up to the change.

Having said that, of course it makes sense from a UX perspective to have a website that works in all contexts, orientations and for all screen sizes, but my issue is that the urgency with which many were promoting changes to be made was excessive.

The key issue

But more importantly than that, when you start considering your website traffic in more detail, you’ll see why this mobile-friendly issue may not have been such a big issue after all.

If you think that a typical B2B website, or indeed this blog, may receive anywhere from 5-20% of its traffic via a mobile device. Of that proportion, when you look at Google Analytics, I’ve often seen it further split between tablet devices and mobile devices fairly evenly – so at any one time, a maximum of 10% of web visitors are arriving on the site via a mobile device.

Depending on the design of the platform, it may or may not be a good experience for them – but that’s not the issue here. The key issue is whether an individual has actually searched for your site using Google. Because if they have, and your site isn’t mobile-optimised or responsively designed, then your position in the Google search results may suffer. But remember that the maximum of 10% of web visitors on a mobile device may not be arriving via Google search. They may have bookmarked your site, they may arrive from other inbound links or social referrals – so my contention with ‘Mobilegeddon’ is that the true impact is arguably less than was suggested initially and we’ve been the victim of online scaremongering.

Easy fix

Of course, if your site is based on WordPress (as this one is) then it’s relatively quick and easy to identify a replacement theme that is mobile-friendly or responsive-designed, upload and activate it – and then you’re compliant with the Google algorithm. 

But if you’re managing your site using a different CMS or system, then you might need bit more help and direction. And that’s where Google’s Webmaster Tools come in handy. Once you’ve registered your site with the platform, it’ll be analysed and a report on where any issues (from Google’s perspective) will be made available to you – along with a list of fixes and further advice that you may want to implement. Whether that’s easy or not to implement will depend on your technical ability or the ability of the team or person working on your site, but at least you know where you should be focusing your efforts.

Free test of mobile-friendly status

You can test your site, or any of your competitor sites, using this free Google tool here.

Why I like Flipboard

Flipboard has been around for a while now and was arguably one of the ‘killer apps’ of the first iPads. It has certainly stood the test of time too and has evolved over the years. More recently, there’s been further development which has seen new features added, improving the overall appeal of the platform. It’s one of those apps that I have on all my devices.

Aggregated content

Flipboard originally started out offering aggregated content and it’s clear this is where its strength lies. Rather than subscribing to countless individual newsletters and feeds from the sites and publishers that you’re interested in, you can just create your own custom magazine, choosing the content you want from the publishers you’re interested in. Flipboard takes care of the hassle and presents the content in an incredibly user-friendly digital magazine format.

Self publishing

My magazine that I self publish is available here. I use it to store and share the stories that I find interesting, curating content from across the web and social platforms – typically spanning the usual topics of personal finance, technology, health and general news or current affairs. Occasionally, there are some instructables and DIY guides that I find interesting and would love to have a go of when I have more time, so I add them to my Flipboard magazine knowing that they’ll be there at a later date when I need them.

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Bookmarklet

The bookmarklet is invaluable for curating content as you’re browsing the web. Simply go here and drag the Flip It button on to your bookmark bar. Then as you’re browsing the web if you see something interesting and want to add it to your magazine, it’s as simple as clicking this button. If you have multiple magazines, you can choose which one to send it to and you can also add your own comment or thoughts on the content as you do so.

Web access

One of the major recent changes the team at Flipboard introduced, was the ability to access the platform via a browser. Previously confined to the app on a mobile device, it’s now possible to browse Flipboard online, through a browser. It’s not as pleasant a user experience (unless you have a touch-enabled screen) as the mobile device, but sometimes it’s helpful to be able to quickly access one of your magazines for some content you’ve saved or curated for referencing later.

Where to get it

Flipboard on the web – here (and Flipboard Editor – here)

Flipboard on itunes – here

Flipboard on android – here

Why Viber is better than WhatsApp

viber logoI read the news that Facebook had bought WhatsApp for $19bn with some surprise, as most of the world did – particularly as the deal was apparently concluded in a matter of weeks since it was first discussed. I can understand the various theories bouncing around about why it was so important for Facebook to nullify a potential future competitor, tap into the mobile market more successfully (it’s the future, apparently!) and instantly receive a shot in the arm in terms of their impressive user base growth rate (WhatsApp instantly adds 450 million users to the Facebook user bottom line). But I struggle to comprehend is why they paid so much. The Marketer magazine put together a good summary of why Facebook bought WhatsApp HERE

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Sony Xperia Play phone announced

Ok, I know I’m all grown up and shouldn’t be interested in a phone that includes its own portable playstation system, but I am… in fact, I’m very interested in it.

Not only does it appear to have full smartphone capabilities, but it’s apparently housed in a reasonably svelte package (albeit larger than typical smartphones) – and it looks pretty damn good.

The videos I’ve seen online about playable demos are really encouraging… as long as the battery life holds up, it’ll make for more entertaining journeys on public transport, for example!

One of the main unanswered questions currently focuses on how much the thing will cost. Well, Amazon UK currently has the phone available to pre-order for £599.99 (link HERE) – scheduled to be released on 4th April 2011. Inevitably, this price will tumble as the April launch date looms – and I also expect there to be significant discounts when purchasing the phone through a mobile carrier, as it’ll be heavily subsidised too. The main networks in the UK have already announced that they’ll be carrying the phone.

Importantly, as with all gaming devices, they live or die by the quality of the games available – and Sony have apparently lined up 50 games to be ready at launch, including some classics… I’m just hoping my all time favourite PS one game is on there: Circuit Breakers!!!

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