With the increasing adoption rates of iPhone and Smartphones, Mobile Web activity is exploding. In a study of our hotels we have found that mobile devices accessing your website is between 3-7% of total visitor activity to your website for September 2010, typically representing a 100% increase on hotel activity from last year. So, is the best option to choose iPhone Application (App) or a Mobile Friendly Websites? Here are some of the differences between an iPhone App and a Mobile Friendly Website:
1. Phone Accessibility: An iPhone App is only available for Apple iPhones, iPads and other Apple mobile web devices and not for other Smartphones such as Blackberry, Nokia, Samsung, Android. Mobile Friendly Websites can be accessed by all Smartphone including iPhones, Blackberry, Nokia.
2. Downloading: iPhone Apps need to be downloaded from the App Store onto your phone, but Mobile Friendly Sites can be accessed in your Internet Browser – up to 5 times faster access than finding your App in the App Store, logging into the App Store and downloading the app.
3. Functionality: The exact same functionality and aesthetics can be implemented on a Smartphone as an iPhone App.
4. Mobile Browsers: When someone types in your website into the address bar in your Internet browser it will automatically default to your Mobile Friendly website, example www.hayfieldmanor.ie will default to http://m.hayfieldmanor.ie. If you have an iPhone App they will only see the computer friendly website.
5. Mobile Search Engine Optimisation: Search is the "Web's killer app"! It is not possible to optimise an iPhone App for the Search Engines only for the App Store. You can optimise each page of your Mobile Friendly site but you can only optimise the tags of an App. It is possible to search for Apps on Google by typing in the “app” or “download” followed by the brand name which will find it in the app store but this is a cumbersome search rather than clicking straight into a Mobile Friendly site.
6. Updating Information: On an iPhone App, if there are any updates made to the functionality the app needs to be updated from the App store. Aró’s Mobile websites are developed in the AróBIS content management system thus allowing you to make changes quickly and easily to all content. Unlike a mobile App which requires the user to download and install an update which many users will not do, leaving them with out of date content.
Check out our recently live mobile friendly sites http://m.beverlyhillshotel.com and http://m.hayfieldmanor.ie