I know what you’re thinking…”what debate? Shouldn’t every website have a mobile version?”. Well, to answer the question with an interjection that I loathe, yes and no. It is more accurate to state that every website should (and needs to) be ‘mobile friendly’. Let’s talk about what that is…
Just a few years ago, developers were creating beautiful sites for desktops, but if you accessed the site from a smart phone, the mobile version of the site you saw left much to be desired. It was basic, plain, had information, but relayed no connection to the branding of the main site. Essentially, there was no consistency in design.
Today we have landed on some middle ground which I think is powerful and engaging. We either design the site to be “responsive” to the size of the screen, or simply format the main site to look awesome on a smaller screen. There are many factors that lead into which direction we would go (target market, audience, type of organization, etc.), but one conclusion we should make is that the days of text only mobile versions are over!
