Michele - Profile

Hi

the tool that Steve suggested, correct me if I'm wrong is the google tool which lets you see what your site looks like on a mobile. This tool is designed to let you see why you need a mobile site, as it will point out what improvements you may have to do to make your site more optimised for a mobile user.

Its a great tool to give you an idea of what sort of thing is needed for a mobile site. If you decide to go ahead and try and build a site yourself then you click build a site and google has a list of companies that can help. I havent yet checked out whether any of these companies are free or not.

To make a phone number clickable will be easy if you use any of the free options on google search, just follow the instructions. Or alternatively if you decide to get someone to build it for you, they will easily add click to call buttons.

Just one word of caution if you decide to build for yourself - some of the free options may only be free for a short period of time, and some of the features you may fancy may be in the paid section, so just remember and read it all through. Also, new mobile phones come out all the time and mobile sites need something called a redirect script to work. Check whether the free company offers a redirect script that auto updates, as if it doesnt, it means that in some cases people cant view your site on their mobile. I didnt word that too well did I? What I meant was every time a mobile user clicks on your site, the redirect script recognises the mobile phone and then redirects them to the mobile site. But, if the redirect script does not recognise that particular mobile phone, the redirect will not work. Unless you have a redirect script that auto updates.
I am sorry if I have confused you more now, just get back to me if I have and I will make a better attempt at trying to help!!!
Michele

This is not something that I have had alot of experience in, but I do agree with the comments that other members have already commented on eg they can be expensive and they can be more beneficial to some businesses more than others.

What I was thinking was though, for a business that is promoting different products like yourself, I feel videos could be great for you - I dont mean highly polished video production but more the personal business owner speaking type video. You could run a few videos each video explaining a bit more about a particular product, its uses,ingredients, what makes it special etc.

People LOVE to hear what others think before they buy, so if you could get actual customers to sit in front of a camera and tell others why they use the product and why, this would add great credibility to the product.

Each video wouldnt have to be long either - a minute or less is ample.

One other advantage I could think of is if you have a few videos that you upload to you tube, this then means that you could appear on the front page of google for that particular product. Its alot easier and quicker to rank video on the front page than a website or webpage. You Tube does have some information on setting up a You Tube channel and how you fill in the descriptions etc. If you need this, give me a shout and I will try and find it for you.

Hope this helps
Michele

Hi Lee

I just joined this forum today and just read your post regarding mobile web design.
You have some great feedback already from other members, and here's my two pennies worth!

Do you need a mobile site?
Short answer - YES
Why? You are a photographer which local folks will search for on their desktop computers and also their mobile phones - 1 in 3 searches now is done on a mobile which means 1 in 3 visitors to your site are using a mobile. I dont know where you are based, but in my local city of Aberdeen, many people search for photographers, wedding photographers here. If you check out the google keyword tool and type in photographer your city eg photographer aberdeen, you will get a rough idea of how many people search for you on a monthly basis. And remember at least a third of these people are doing their research on a mobile device.

Another thing to think about is being viewable on a mobile device is not the same as being mobile optimised. A mobile optimised site compliments your existing website, but pulls info that is relevant for a mobile user eg contact number (click to call button), location, hours of operation, where to find you, what others say about you (reviews), and also as you are a photographer, you would want your photos to be viewable on a mobile device too.

You could just have a wee check of your site on a mobile and think like a customer for a second. Can you find what you are looking for? Are you consistently zooming in and scrolling left and right to read content? Is it easy to navigate around?

I would be more than willing to have a quick look at your website and give you feedback, just give us a shout.
Michele