Does creating MOBILE site versions relevant anymore?

Question

Our regular mobile browsers have changed significantly. It's not tiny wap browsers anymore. Most used mobile devices (in states at least) are: IOS based, ANDROID based, and RIM OS based devices. So - heck - we basically have full featured browsers with javascript/css/html5 support. Android even has Flash support. All of the mentioned ones have automatic update functionality thanks god (burn in hell Microsoft) and zoomin/zoomout (pinch and touch whatever) functionality, so the pixel size is pretty much IMHo irrelevant.

My question is: 1) Would you still create a separate mobile site version in our times? 2) If you would - what would you change in mobile site version? Is it CSS? Do you load lighter images? Would you disable flash? etc.

I appreciate your input. Thanks

Answer 1

Depending on your user base, no need for a dedicated website for WAP devices anymore.

Adjust the CSS to change the layout of the website but be careful not to hide functionality, and offer a link for the user to change the website css file back to the normal website one. A lot of users prefer using the normal website layer since they're used to it.

If the website is very dependant on large image files, maybe this should be looked into resolving for the main website, not just the mobile version... Users appreciate a fast loading webpage

Answer 2

I develop mobile sites along with full sites in most cases. The reduced resolutions of the majority of current devices call for an alternate UI, with differing focus and content. A mobile site for a restaurant for example should most likely heavily feature a location finder (and detection), contact info and an interactive menu.

-bill