Today mobile is becoming an increasingly viable source for internet content. Building a website is no longer a singular task – it also involves building a mobile site to complement. Many companies have no idea what their site looks like on a mobile device and many companies don’t care. But they should care, because by 2013, 50% of all mobile devices will be web-enabled. Now, more than ever, it is important to be thinking about mobile site development and how to deliver content to your users via a mobile device. I wouldn’t say that if you don’t have a mobile site you are nobody, but in the ever-so-near future, this will be the case.
So, along with developing and planning your mobile site, branding and consistency is an important topic of conversation. Many times your brand can, and most likely will, be compromised of elements spanning several different mediums. Below I show a few different companies that were able to successfully carry their brand from a traditional online site to a mobile version. I believe this is very important for several reasons: You want your users to have a similar experience between mobile and traditional, but most importantly, you want your brand to remain consistent and intact.
1. Nike.com/NikeLab.com (Nike Lab)
Nike was able to keep consistency across both platforms with not only the navigation, but the overall look. One of the biggest positives is that NikeLab.com is built entirely in flash; this tends to be a very big issue when migrating to mobile. NikeLab did an exceptional job translating their flash site to a mobile site while maintaining the same look and feel. And while the overall experience suffers a bit because the flash version has video and a good amount of interactivity, the mobile experience is engaging and kept me browsing. They did a great job of emulating some of the interactivity that the flash version had.
2. AE.com (American Eagle Outfitters)
This site also made the transition to mobile very well. The overall purchasing experience was very similar and very easy to use on both platforms. I was very impressed by how easy it was to find a product and purchase it on the mobile device. Many times, making purchases on a mobile site will be such a long and tedious process, I don’t even bother. But the American Eagle mobile site was up-to-date and featured the current promotions that were on the traditional site, making the experience extremely similar and fluid.
The two sites above are prime examples of how a company/client should really be thinking about their mobile experience. With customers using their mobile devices more and more for standard internet applications, it has become increasingly important to show them that you have a seamless mobile presence. Along with this presence comes that relationship between Website and Mobile site.
