Mid-Atlantic Innkeepers Conference: Mobile followup

For those attending our Doing Mobile Right seminar at the Mid-Atlantic Conference in Baltimore, MD (as well as those who missed it) we are publishing a followup with direct links to many of the utilities we discussed during our seminar.

As we covered, all mobile sites are not created equal.  A good mobile website is more than just a simple webpage.  It adapts to fit devices viewing it, offering special features when available without alienating those with older technology.  Put another way, although it’s much cheaper to offer a one size fits all approach to mobile websites, you are doing yourself and your guests a disservice.  Why should users on a tablet be forced to see the same tiny graphics meant for the optimal experience on an early, low-resolution display smartphone?

ready.mobi offers a fantastic service, allowing you to plug in a link to any mobile website to get a great deal of data.  The utility will give you an in depth analysis of your mobile website, offering up suggestions on improving the experience as well as a simple numerical rating.

User Agent Switcher (Firefox | Chrome) allows you to impersonate various devices, from Blackberries to iPhones and many others, all from your desktop computer.  This easy to use plugin installs quick and easily to Firefox or Chrome web browsers, allowing you to see exactly how your mobile site displays on various devices.

We’ll provide additional links and information as trends continue to evolve.  Remember that all mobile devices are not created equal, and the pool of traffic visiting your website is becoming increasingly likely to come from a tablet or smartphone.