Surfing the web on mobile phones continues to grow in popularity. With the rise of smartphones such as the Apple iPhone, Blackberrys and devices from other brands such as Nokia the ‘mobile web’ seems to have become more and more in use.

Worth Becoming Mobile Friendly?
No doubt this is one market that will continue to grow over the coming years, and potentially rapidly, so ignoring this opportunity would be madness. It improves your reach to potential customers, means you are more accessible and also being involved already means you are ready for the future as mobile web develops even further. It also acts as another promotional method as there are directories specific for phone surfers.

Is Your Site Mobile Friendly?
The Dropshipper On A Blackberry Curve 8520Most websites aren’t automatically suited for use on phones, the formatting can end up all over the place. Get your website up on your phone (if it is internet enabled, which most new ones are) and take a look. Chances are it is isn’t.

Do Any Companies Yet Have Special Websites For Phones?
Yes. Lots of major companies, and much smaller ones, are now creating specific mobile-optimised websites. Amazon, Travelodge & Swiftcover are just a few of the companies already live – test them our on your phone to see what they look like. Another site is DropshipBog.co.uk, that’s right (see image on right), you can read all our content on your device, check us out on your phone now!

What’s The Difference Between The Sites?
Sites for mobiles have to be much ‘lighter’ so they load a lot quicker – compressed images, stripping out design elements and removing scripts are just a few of the changes. A script on your website means it detects the browser a visit is using and shows them the website as appropriate.

How Can I Make My Website Mobile Friendly?
You can either install a script yourself, search in google for things like ‘mobile friendly’ and there are lots of blog posts and articles with advice. Alternatively you can use a service to create one for you (it is free for basic services or paid for a more premium service). One I have tried out is MoFuse.com which is very easy to do and a quick solution. The benefits of doing it yourself are; you have complete control and your content doesn’t get redirected to another domain (like it does with services like MoFuse). However the services are a quicker and easier.

Conclusion
The web really is going mobile, and it is an area you can attack now before other ecommerce sites get in on the act. Be one step ahead of the game, it should pay off!