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The Blurry Line Between Mobile & Desktop

October 24, 2012

With all the talk about mobile apps lately, sometimes it’s easy to forget that apps aren’t the only way your customers can see your company on mobile devices. A growing amount of traffic to company websites comes from mobile devices. As many as one out of every four visitors – 25% – are using a mobile device (a phone or tablet) to access the sites we’ve built recently.

It’s important to keep your mobile visitors in mind when you look at the design of your site. Remember, too, that not all mobile devices are the same; an iPhone 4S with a 3.5″ screen will show a site much differently than a 9.7″ iPad or 10.1″ Microsoft Surface tablet. Look at the comparison to the right to see some of the variety among today’s popular mobile devices.

How can you build for such a large range of devices without breaking the bank? Luckily, there are a few options.

Mobile sites and mobile web apps

There’s a pretty clear split in the world of mobile devices; there are phones and there are tablets. For the most part, phones have screens under 5″. If you want to make sure people can navigate your site on a phone, you may want to consider a separate mobile version of your site. Mobile versions come in two flavors: mobile sites, which strip down the design of your site to make it easier to read on a phone, and mobile web apps, which load in a web browser but behave like apps you’d download for your phone. If you’re building a mobile version, it’s important to consider the type of content you include as well as how much you want.

Touch-friendly sites

Tablet users are just as important as those who use a phone. Just this week, Microsoft is releasing its Surface tablet and Apple starts taking orders for the new iPad mini. When someone views your site on a tablet, they’re navigating with their finger – and links will appear smaller than they do on a desktop or notebook computer, especially on smaller tablets like the Kindle Fire or iPad mini. Are the links on your site big enough to tap?

The main links of your site should be big enough to see and tap without zooming, even on smaller tablets.

Responsive design

What if you could have one design for your site that adapts depending on screen size? That’s the approach of responsive design. If someone views your site on a desktop, notebook, or large tablet, they’ll see the full-featured version of your site; if they use smaller screens, they’ll see only the most crucial information. We have plenty more information about responsive design and its benefits if you’d like to learn more.

When you’re thinking about mobile traffic for your site, consider what your visitors will see. No matter which option you choose, it’s really important to consider the large and growing mobile market when you design your company’s site!

Justin is one of the developers at Sephone. He's interested in user-driven design, social media, and web services. He also enjoys learning and exploring new ways for businesses and people to use the web.

How your company can benefit from iPhone 5 & iOS 6

September 20, 2012

Yesterday Apple released the next version of the guts of their mobile devices, an operating system called iOS 6. If you have the iPhone 3GS or newer or if you’ve bought an iPod touch or iPad in the last couple of years, you can grab the latest batch of goodies in your Settings app now.

With all the buzz around Apple’s product launches, sometimes it’s tough to put things in perspective and figure out how the new releases can help your business. Here are a few new ideas to consider that are now possible thanks to iOS 6.

Smart app banners

If you have an app in the App Store – or if you decide you’d like to make one – iOS 6 adds the ability to automatically put a banner when someone loads your site in a web browser to indicate that you have an app available for download or purchase. When the user clicks on the banner at the top of your site, they’ll go directly to your app’s page in the App Store (or open the app if they’ve already downloaded it).

Single-app mode

Using the new Guided Access features in iOS 6, you can lock an iPhone or iPad into a single-app mode; in other words, you can limit what people can do on a device to a specific task. There are lots of possiblities to make great new applications using this mode:

Surveys to fill out and then return to a company representative
iPad-based guided tours of museums that people can take around with them
A product portfolio or an email newsletter signup to use at a trade show

If you’ve ever wanted to single-purpose iPad application, Guided Access will be music to your ears.

Passbook

iOS 6 includes a great new app called Passbook. It’s a central place to keep tickets, coupons, passes, and more to all your favorite shops and events.

The great news about Passbook is that it doesn’t only work with national chains and major airlines; it’s relatively simple to create coupons and passes for any store – including yours. Imagine your shop’s name listed on someone’s phone next to the likes of Starbucks, Target, and more.

Passbook makes shopping and saving really easy for customers, and it’s a great opportunity for your business. Reach out to us if you’d like to talk about making passes for your store.

What will you do?

iOS 6 and the new iPhone 5 opens up many new possibilities to reach your customers wherever they go. How will you use them for your company?

Design for Mobile, Not a Phone

September 18, 2012

As you’ve probably heard by now, Apple announced last week that their latest phone – the iPhone 5 – will be available this Friday. The new phone features a few nice upgrades, but the most visible change by far is that the phone is now taller; the screen has jumped from 3.5″ when you measure from one corner to the other to 4″. It may seem like a small change, but it can make a big difference to the people who use the phone.

When you think about how your company’s site looks on mobile devices, are you limiting yourself to how it looks on your phone, or are you thinking about how it will look on everyone’s phone? Different mobile phones have different sizes, dimensions, and proportions. If your site is built for a specific size, your site may not look its best on other types of mobile devices.

Whether you decide to build a mobile web app, a responsive layout, or simply an optimized site to account for smaller devices when someone visits your site, keep in mind that there are many shapes and sizes for the phones and tablets people use every day. Make sure your designers account for them when they show you their ideas.

The Folk Festival at Your Fingertips

August 21, 2012

We’re in full American Folk Festival mode here at Sephone. Every year we look forward to the music, arts, and culture that the Folk Festival brings to the Bangor waterfront for a weekend in August, and this year promises to be another great time for the tens of thousands of people who join the festivities.

We’re long-time Folk Festival supporters, and each year we try to bring something new to the table for festival-goers. If you remember last year, we released a mobile app for those with Android phones and also created a mobile web site with schedule and performer information. We heard some great feedback about those mobile tools, and we wanted to add a little more for the eleventh year of the AFF. (If you downloaded last year’s app on Android, please update to the latest version!)

This year it’s really simple: if you head to americanfolkfestival.com on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll be prompted to download the free 2012 American Folk Festival mobile app. Once you’ve installed it on your phone, you’ll have a complete Folk Festival schedule wherever you go, and you’ll also be able to read more information about each of the performers. The app auto-updates the schedule, too, in case there are any changes over the course of the weekend. Want to know who’s playing on the Railroad Stage? It’s really easy to find that out, too. There’s also an interactive map of the waterfront to allow you to find food, crafts, music, and more.

One of my favorite new features is the ability to take photos and submit them to the Folk Festival – they’ll feature the best on their official Facebook page. Take some photos of those moments that make the Folk Festival unforgettable for you, and you might see them featured on the AFF’s Facebook page! (Of course, please be courteous to the other festival-goers around you! We’re all there to have fun.)

Remember, head to americanfolkfestival.com on your phone to download the app for free. We hope the new features in the app will make it even easier to find your way to some great music at the AFF. The Folk Festival makes the Bangor waterfront come alive each year, and it’s always an amazing experience. Hope to see you this weekend, and remember to support the Festival if you can!

The Importance of Standards

August 14, 2012

A lot of people have asked us why we don’t support certain web browsers or why we recommend certain web browsers over others. To explain that, we need to talk about web standards. To explain those, let’s take a train ride.

Working on the railroad

I come from a family of railroaders; most of the men on my dad’s side of the family worked long days building and repairing lines throughout northern Maine. It’s safe to say that I’ve heard my share of railroad stories and talks about railroad history.

One of my favorite pieces of railway trivia has to do with track gauges. Before the Civil War, trains in different parts of the country used different track gauges – that is, the width between the two rails of the track. If you wanted something moved a long distance, there was a good chance you’d need to stop, change locomotives, change cars, and start again on a track with a different width. As time moved on, railroads changed and widely adopted the standard gauge in use today, allowing the same car to move from one side of the country to the other. (If you’d like to see an example of a railroad with a different gauge, visit the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad; it’s still in use in Portland.)

From the train engine to the search engine: why are web standards awesome?

The web’s a lot like the early days of railroads. When people started using the web, every web browser would do things a different way. (I’d show you the code, but I don’t want to scare you with geekery.) Over time, web developers and browser companies have worked together to develop the equivalent of the standard gauge in railroad track. Those standardized rules are called web standards: a set of rules all browers aim to use across the board. (Two examples of web standards are CSS3 and HTML5.)

Why are standards good for us as web developers (and you as a business owner)? Developing a site takes a lot less time (and money) if we can use a standard set of rules for development. To add more advanced styles and functionality for browsers that are too old to include some of the latest web standards (like Internet Explorer 6 and 7, for example), we need to spend more time to build other versions of the code that will apply to those older versions. Think back to the railroad example; two sets of tracks, two locomotives, and two sets of cars will cost a lot more than if you could use a single set wherever you go.

We love web standards because they can save us time – and save you money. That’s why we recommend newer browsers that support these standards and why we think these recommendations are so important. The bottom line: if you use a standards-compliant web browser, you’ll have a better experience browsing the web!

The Community Connector app arrives

March 30, 2012

Today we’re thrilled to announce our latest launch: a free mobile guide for the Community Connector bus system here in Bangor, Maine. It’s available today for Android and iPhone.

A couple of months ago, our friend Jennifer Hooper came to us with an idea for a mobile app to act as a guide for the Community Connector buses. We thought it was a great opportunity to help the community and add to a techy option alongside the paper rider’s guides that are available on the buses.

The first version includes complete schedule information for all the Community Connector routes. It also gives you the option to see the closest stops to your current location. We’ll be releasing updates and adding more features in the coming months.

If you spend any time along Bangor’s major routes, there’s a good chance you’ll see one of the red buses. Bangor’s bus system – known as “the BAT” to many – covers over a hundred miles of roadway in Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Veazie, Orono, and Old Town, and provided almost 900,000 rides for area residents in 2010. Starting on Monday, April 2, the system is adding a new Odlin Road route.

I remember seeing the buses drive by while I was growing up in Hampden (they were just called “The Bus” back then), and I feel really fortunate that we have such a great and growing bus system right here in Bangor. If you’ve never used the Community Connector, give it a try! We hope the app will show more people around Bangor that the bus can be smart, convenient, and easy, all while saving money on gas.

Download the app and tell us what you think. Head to communityconnector.sephone.com or scan the QR code below with your phone to download it for free!

Let your visitors know you’re not scared of shares

March 13, 2012

Over the past few weeks, there’s been a growing concern about the legality of sites like Pinterest. Critics charge that social media sites like Pinterest are a breeding ground for copyright infringement; by sharing images, for example, you may be violating the copyright of the original owner of the content.

The Internet has always had a pretty shaky relationship with copyright law. Pinterest isn’t the first site to bump up against copyright concerns (remember Napster?), and it won’t be the last. The bigger issue here is that content creators (that’s you!) need to let the world know how – or if – they’d like their stuff to be shared.

Set your rules for sharing

As a business and site owner, make sure you’re letting your visitors know how you want the information on your site shared. Here are a few simple ways to give an OK:

Add buttons from social networks on any page you’d like people to share with their friends. Most of the popular social networks have buttons available.
Use a service like ShareThis to let people share your content with any of dozens of social networks.
Mix some of your own content in with the other content you post on your Facebook, Twitter, or other social network accounts. This gives your fans an easy way to share the things you post. (Interested in a Pinterest account? We have you covered.)
Add links to your own accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other networks on your site.

These tell the people who visit your site, “Don’t worry, I’d love it if you’d share this page with your friends!”

If for whatever reason you don’t want your content shared, make that clear, too. Say you’re an artist who feels a little unsure about letting your work spread around the web. Tell that to your visitors, but try to be human about it; include a “this work is protected by U.S. and international copyright law” notice if you like, but also try to explain why you’d rather keep your work on your site. It will make it easier for your visitors to understand your views.

Other sharing options

Social media isn’t the only place to share your content. If you share what you make with a Creative Commons license, you can let other people use or adapt your work – and you’ll get credit for it in return. You can also try to find other people or businesses on the web who will partner with you or let you guest post on their blog. There are plenty of opportunities!

Social media is a great opportunity to share your products and content. Make sure you let your visitors know that you’d like it to be spread!

Sephone Social Searcher

March 1, 2012

We’ve talked a lot about the advantages of joining social networks early (and social media’s advantages in general) lately on the blog. “That’s great,” you say, “but social media can take a lot of time to follow. Why should I take the time to check it?”

For the answer to that question, read Kelly’s post about listening. There’s a good chance that people are talking about your business on social media; they may be raving about it, they may be complaining, or they may be recommending you to their friends. Social media gives you the opportunity to engage directly with people who are mentioning your business online.

Still, though, keeping up with all these networks takes time. We want to give you a tool to help.

Today we’re launching the Sephone Social Searcher. It’s a lot easier to use the Searcher than it is to say its name: just enter your business name, location, or site address, and the Searcher will give you a launching point to search for mentions of your business on about a dozen social networks. It lets you search for posts, reviews, photos, and more. You can even bookmark your customized dashboard to access it quickly if you’d like to check often.

Let us know what you think about the Sephone Social Searcher. We believe that you should take some time to see what people are saying about your business online – and we want to make it as easy as possible. How’d we do?

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