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News 2008-11-24 Yankee Group names best sites for mobile By Giselle Abramovich, November 24, 2008 The launch of full-featured, Web-enabled phones such as the Apple iPhone and T-Mobile Android-backed G1 has raised consumer expectations in terms of experience on mobile Web sites. But how can a company know if it is meeting those expectations? According to Market researcher Yankee Group, the average mobile Web site has a lot of room for improvement. Even though most of these Web sites are functional, few have any made-for-mobile features and instead use reformatted desktop content. “Surprisingly, it isn’t easy to find a mobile Web site,” a new Yankee Group study said. “Unlike on the desktop Web, where nearly every Web site starts with www., there is no standard address format for mobile Web sites. “Assuming a company’s domain name is mycompany.com, mobile Web sites pop up at a variety of addresses,” it said. In the report titled, “The Best of the Anywhere Web,” Yankee Group assesses 32 mobile Web sites in the air travel, financial services and shopping industries using the Yankee Group Mobile Web Scorecard. The Yankee Group Mobile Web Scorecard is a methodology that the firm’s analysts use to see how well sites have adapted to mobile users, devices and networks. Today’s Web sites do not get passing grades. The highest scoring Web site was American Airlines (http://aa.com). It scored 67 out of 100 points, falling short of a passing grade of 70. Travel Web sites naturally serve mobile users because those users are likely to be traveling, according to the report. However, Yankee Group’s assessment found that travel sites are not consistent in helping users on the go. “This [American Airlines] site prioritizes travel day information at the top of the mobile site, which is particularly important for mobile users,” the report said. “It offers a specific section of the mobile Web site to report mobile Web issues and it is unique among airline sites in providing keyboard shortcuts.” British Airways scored 57 out of a possible 100 points. The mobile site at http://www.ba2go.com was revamped on Oct. 30 and no longer is restricted to the Vodafone network. The new site, created by Usablenet, allows users to conduct mobile check-in and check flights on various devices. Delta Air Lines’ mobile site at http://www.mobile.delta.com has good graphics and a refined experience, according to Yankee Group. It allows mobile phone check-in at some airports. “Bank of America topped our financial services scores with a 67,” the report said. “Despite its simple appearance, the site supports a wide variety of banking functions including operations such as moving money that can pose challenges with inconsistent connectivity. “To do this, the company has validated its mobile Web security code on more than 600 different phone types and those that can’t meet the security requirements are prohibited from mobile banking,” it said. Amazon.com and Best Buy provided the broadest shopping experiences, according to Yankee Group. Both retailers sell everything digital, from cameras and computers to mobile phones and music. However, Amazon.com prioritizes and markets mobile products such as Zunes and MP3 files over traditional products such as books and DVDs to users who are accessing the site from their mobile. Best Buy makes it easy for mobile users to find stores and provides clickable links to call those stores within the site. Yankee Group recommends that brands accept all possible mobile addresses. “There is no reason to restrict your mobile Web site to only one address,” the study said. The subdomains w.yourcompany.com, mobile.yourcompany.com, wireless.yourcompany.com and wap.yourcompany.com should all point to a company’s mobile Web site. Yankee Group also found that brands need to prioritize mobile information. “Far too many mobile Web sites simply reformat desktop data for a mobile device,” the report said. “But to really satisfy mobile users, site owners need to understand exactly what information is most important to mobile users and prioritize that on mobile screens.” Companies need to enable access keys, as the majority of the Web sites that Yankee group reviewed don’t associate keypad numbers with mobile Web page links. In addition, companies need to validate their sites against Web standards. “Surprisingly, the majority of mobile Web sites we reviewed did not deliver valid XHTML,” the report said. “Satisfying mobile users isn’t rocket science. Rather, it’s a matter of understanding what your users want to achieve while on the go and sweating details like discoverable Web addresses, access keys and XHTML validation on the site. “Businesses and designers best-positioned to succeed will be those who objectively measure their progress rather than guessing about which features to change.” Associate Editor Giselle Abramovich covers ad networks, advertising, content, email, media, messaging, legal/privacy, search, social networks, television and video. Reach her at giselle @mobilemarketer.com. |
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