Going Mobile in 2009

Most sites can’t exist as just plain text. Sites are meant to be dynamic and visually appealing. This doesn’t always work when crossing over to a mobile platform. With mobile browsing increasing, more and more people are asking, “what can I do to optimize my site for mobile browsing?” Luckily, smart phones are making up more and more of the mobile browsing devices. There are fewer pitfalls with these devices, and they allow for richer content than previous mobile devices. However, there is still the issue of screen size, so maximizing the value of real estate is of the utmost importance.

w3 has set up a mobile standards section with the goal of “Making Web access from a mobile device as simple as Web access from a desktop device”. Back in July they released a Best Practices document that you can use to develop a mobile version of your site from scratch. If you have some time on your hands, and like to play, Apple has a Web App Dev center that will walk you through turning your site in to a web application as well.

Luckily, there are a few simpler solutions out there to mobilize your site if you don’t want to build a new version. The one that I’ve seen the most is Mofuse. Mofuse allows you to simply type in the URL or RSS feed of your site, and it instantly mobilizes it for you. It automatically monetizes your mobile site via adsense or admob. They also provide usage statistics and an easy to use Wordpress plugin.

Another option, that isn’t as rich. Is Mowser. To use mowser, simply type in address of your site on the main Mowser page or create a link like this http://mowser.com/web/www.blackweb20.com and set up a redirect for mobile browsers. Unfortunately it seems this service isn’t stable, despite the ease of use, as I’ve gotten errors quite a few times when trying to render sites.

If you are a wordpress user, there is a simple solution. A plugin called Mobile Press. This plugin allows users to easily create different themes for various mobile devices.

Now that your mobile, the question is how to monetize it. If you have an existing adsense account, you can use Google for mobile devices. Another option mentioned above is AdMob. With smart devices, people can still have banner ads, but dynamic ads not so much. Cool right? Just make sure that whatever service you are using allows you to get segment data for mobile usage on your site (or a very good estimate). Mobile advertising is still evolving as more users switch to mobile browsing devices. I think that in 2009 we will see a lot of growth in this area though.