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It is impossible to guess what mobile device, operating system version, user context or accessibility requirements your customers will be viewing your website on before it happens. But with a mobile strategy that can accommodate any requirement seamlessly and efficiently, a “best fit” experience to the end-user is always within reach. Enterprises around the world are seeking advice and experimenting with a variety of solutions for their websites that can address this highly fragmented and diverse mobile device reality their customers are living in. Some have defaulted to optimizing for only the leading and/or latest mobile device, such as the iPhone 5. Others have taken a responsive Web design approach creating websites that can rearrange themselves based on browser classifications of device size. But neither of these strategies will work for all customers using the mobile Web. Without a device database, your website will be broken for someone, somewhere.
The importance of context
A device database is a cloud-based library of intelligent device information, which can provide accurate and detailed profiling of any connecting device, far beyond the capabilities of a browser. Knowing which device your customer is using, how they are using it and the functionalities and features of that device, is crucial for an “unbroken” mobile Web strategy. Fragmentation is increasing, making the need for the implementation of some form of device context service (device database) even more urgent.
The Netbiscuits Quarterly Metrics report published in December 2012 revealed that a strategy even catering for all of the top ten devices globally would only capture 56% of the total mobile traffic around the world. In the coming years, there will be a demand to connect even more to the Web, on even more devices with new browsers and new operating systems. Companies must ensure that their website or application adapts to each device to deliver the best possible customized Web experience.
Good, but not good enough
Many companies have explored or deployed a RWD strategy to achieve this. However, a website built using RWD alone can experience significant load time delays on images and video. RWD will not address the complexity of making features like touch work across all devices. To avoid such limitations, some organisations choose to combine RWD with some server-side information for feature and device detection. This is where a device database is critical to success. And the quality of your device information library will ultimately determine the quality of the end user experience and engagement.
Device detection should combine information held in a database, with information that is specific to an individual’s phone at that particular moment. Information about the phone is held in the server (such as screen size), whereas information from the phone is received after the user connects (such as location). A device database can hold incredibly detailed information and the advantages of using such a service with RWD include less “page bloat,” which speeds up loading times, and an adaptive navigation structure and content delivery which can be customised for the different tasks performed by mobile and desktop users. Without this type of information, weaker mobile browsers can suffer from too much content, poor usability and a suboptimal experience.
The user expectation gap
The time is now
Companies must ensure that their website adapts to deliver the best possible customized Web experience across all devices, browsers and features. This is where a device database or device context service becomes paramount.
Good mobile sites are different from their desktop versions as they account for the shorter attention span when undertaking a mobile search. Ideally, the site’s overall structure needs to be adjusted to fit the user’s situation. For a truly customized web experience, other factors such as faster image conversion, GPS and touch functions must also be considered. This cannot be done without a device database.
