use the navigation, that email sent to him was a waste of time and maybe a sale lost. There are three potential solutions – responsive design, a mobile website or a mobile app. Responsive design The front end of the website is rebuilt to use a new set of commands called media queries. This allows the website to recognise the device the visitor is using and adapt the page design and layout to be appropriate. It means changing column design, font size, image sizes, the navigation style and button styles. This approach provides for all the custom and standard website features and content to be available across all devices. Mobile website This is a separate website designed to work best on a mobile phone. Content can be optimised for mobile use as well as the layout, thus reducing page load times. The downside to this is that it does not solve the requirements for tablets unless you create another site for tablets. As any custom features of the main website have to be replicated on the mobile site, the page traffic is split between two domains which weakens the search ranking of the site. Should you have multiple website front ends on different domain names (perhaps for different countries or different brands), you need a mobile and/or tablet site for each version which will greatly increase the cost. Mobile app This is a program that runs on a phone and has to be downloaded from the app store. Downloading an app shows a high level of loyalty by the user as this will be on their device for future visits, allowing users to come and go. There is, however, a downside. Reports indicate a very high usage drop off rate for apps, a high cost of production and the same problems that apply to mobile websites. Although responsive design is usually the most cost effective option, it is still a significant expense unless you have a simple template website. As soon as you have custom elements in the website skin, the entire front end of the site has to be recoded to use new commands. Plus, because the site will look and behave differently on different devices, key pages may need to be designed for each different layout. Creating an easy shopping experience for the over 40 per cent of visitors using a mobile or tablet is an effective way to improve conversion and have repeat customers. Remove the barriers to conversion and the experience will encourage people to shop more. Optimising for mobile could make a world of difference. Frank Gilbert is MD of Solutionists. For more information, call: +64 9 630 3074.