Mobile Website Question

[TravG]

If you were going to create a mobile version of your existing website, would you structure the mobile version just like your standard website? I am going to make a mobile version of my one site using the whole m.domainname thing, but I am curious if the pages should be the same. If I have a reviews page on the regular website should I have a reviews page on the mobile version with the same URL? Or can you just create a mobile website and structure it anyway you want to?

Obviously the mobile site will not have near the pages the standard website does, but the pages I do create I wonder if they should mock the main website?

Thanks

[chaumi]

This possibly only applies if you're concerned about what Google 'think'....but their guidelines suggest that a mobile version of a page should be close to what's on the 'standard' site.

The problem of course is that it may not be particularly easy to replicate exactly what's on the standard site on a mobile optimised page (unless you're working from a starting position of building for both). But I think you already know that, hence the question

Personally I've just built mobile optimised pages only for main site pages that were getting enough (mobile) traffic to warrant the effort - cut and pasted the content from one to the other, then reviewed it and cut down - on the assumption (maybe incorrect) that mobile users would be likely to 'skim' more than desktop users. So the content is close to but not precisely the same..but pretty close. It seems to have worked, the mobile version pages are indexed in their own right, and enough visitors either stay on the page to read or click through to other pages to have made the effort worthwhile.

What's interesting is that even when a first time visitor lands on a mobile optimised page, they still click through to non optimised pages as well...and appear to be reading them.

Just personal experience of course, and may not be adequately representative of what might happen on other sites.



''If I have a reviews page on the regular website should I have a reviews page on the mobile version with the same URL? Or can you just create a mobile website and structure it anyway you want to?''

Let's say your reviews page on standard site is at www.$%33**.com/casino-reviews

Your mobile version of that page should be at www.mobile.$%33**.com/casino-reviews (or m.)

At least that's what's worked for me so far.

[TravG]

Thanks - that is what I kind of figured. I think what I am going to do is if a visitor visits and page on the full website I am going to redirect them to the mobile sites homepage. From there it is just one click to all the pages on the mobile site and there is a link to go back to the full website. Does sound like a good idea or no?

I guess the downfall to that is if a visitor ends up on a page that I do not have covered on the mobile they are kinda screwed but then again they can click to go back to the main site? What do you think?? Good/bad idea?

[chaumi]

''I think what I am going to do is if a visitor visits any page on the full website I am going to redirect them to the mobile sites homepage''

I'm pretty sure I read that the Google guidelines say/suggest not to do that on the basis that it's not good usability (but I can't find that article now, it was probably one on a Google guideline page)...

You're not sending visitors to a page they think they're going to end up on....example you have a sub page of the site that's ranked for 'Auntie Claire's Casinos', the user gets it in search results, clicks, wants Auntie claire's casinos...but ends up on your home page, nothing about Auntie Claire's casinos.

I'd suggest building a properly optimised mobile page for each desktop page that you get enough mobile traffic on...otherwise let them hit what they think they're going to hit, and enlarge the content if they want to.

[bonuscenter]

''I think what I am going to do is if a visitor visits any page on the full website I am going to redirect them to the mobile sites homepage''

I'm pretty sure I read that the Google guidelines say/suggest not to do that on the basis that it's not good usability (but I can't find that article now, it was probably one on a Google guideline page)...

You're not sending visitors to a page they think they're going to end up on....example you have a sub page of the site that's ranked for 'Auntie Claire's Casinos', the user gets it in search results, clicks, wants Auntie claire's casinos...but ends up on your home page, nothing about Auntie Claire's casinos.

Mmmm... I really think this would not be a problem. If your page is not mobile-friendly your page will probably not appear in google results if the visitor uses a mobile.

When you search on google from a mobile you get different results, with mobile-friendly pages on first positions. If you are redirecting your traffic to a different page to mobile visitors then google will index your destination page as a new page.

[bonuscenter]

I think the best option is to have a responsive website that can be viewed on any device. To a visitors using a mobile device, you must show the summary information, hiding most of the images and omitting the non-relevant information, but keeping the contents of your desktop version. You can do this with CSS rules. Following this way search engines will assign higher rankings to your pages, because the same URL will be accessed by everyone, no matter what device they use.


Of course this involves a special architecture for the website.

[chaumi]

''I think the best option is to have a responsive website that can be viewed on any device''

Yes, this is Google's number 1 recommendation...but they would appear to recognise it may not be practical to do this as they make a point of detailing the other solutions too.

[martinseomcgarry]

From what I've seen, most of your website are on wordpress.

My recommendation is the same as Chaumi & Bonuscenter - options are 1.plugin a responsive theme to wordpress and set up the redirect in your .htaccess file - that way its all the same content. The user simply gets a different theme dependent on what platform they are using 2. Rebuild you current layout with a new responsive theme. 3.Higher a designer to recode your current theme into a responsive layout.

Absolutely no need to build a duplicate mobile version of a site these days if your simply offering info and affiliate banners