Technology is increasingly part of everyday life. In the past ten years, computers have become smaller and more powerful; companies conduct business over the Internet; and people expect their cell phones to have access to the Internet, to take pictures, to give weather conditions, and to make financial transactions.
We have become a mobile society that expects access and connection through smart phones. Because of this expectation, companies are developing applications that extend a smart phone’s capabilities. Some self storage business owners recognize people’s expectations for connectivity on their phone and are stepping up to meet those expectations.
Hide Away Storage, in Florida, launched a mobile version of their website in an effort to increase usability for customers with smart phones. They realized that their current webpage didn’t display very well on a phone’s small screen. So they developed one in a format specifically to be viewed on a cell phone.
There are several things that need to be taken into consideration if your business wants to have a site designed specifically for cell phones.
- Avoid using tables in the page layout because tables do not display well on small screens.
- Graphics should be small. Large graphics take a long time to download and are difficult to view.
- Put the navigation at the top of the page so users don’t have to scroll down to locate it.
- Don’t design the site using Flash. Many phones don’t support Flash.
- Break the content into small chunks. That makes it easier to read.
- Put the most important information at the top of the page.
- Provide back buttons for easy navigation.
“As more and more people buy ‘smart’ phones each year, we wanted our customers and prospects to be able to contact us easily when they search for Hide-Away Storage. With our new mobile website, customers can easily call and email us with the click of a button. In addition, prospects can see our unit pricing and reserve a unit right from their phone,” said Meisha Wilson, Hide-Away’s marketing manager.
Hide-Away had 4 main requirements for their mobile website: the ability to call the location, map the location, reserve a unit, and view the price list. G5 Search Marketing in Bend, Oregon, designed the website and did an excellent job on it.
If you don’t have a mobile website for your self storage facility, you might want to consider getting one. It makes is very easy for customers, and prospective ones, to find you.
Sources Used:
"Hide-Away Storage Launches Mobile Website." PRWeb; 23 December 2011.
How to Write Web Pages for the iPhone and Other Wireless Devices.
How to build and design a mobile website.