I’ve written a few posts lately about what not to do when you do not have great support for your mobile- or tablet visitors, one about not prompting app downloads and one about what you should not to when you don’t have a tablet strategy. But what I haven’t covered is what you should do to support mobile and tablet visitors, because there are so many answers to that question and it all depends on your goals. But here is a start a suggestion on what you should do while developing a better solution or deciding on your strategy.

Develop a page for mobile and/or tablet visitors with the options they have.

A few examples could be.

A few weeks ago I listened to a very interesting presentation/marketing session by Mattias Beijmo about strategy for the web. It was especially one example ge gavethat has been stuck on my mind since then.

If you go to a car dealer to look for new tires, you would be quite upset if you were met by a salesman who held up sign and shouted “BUY THIS NEW CAR”. You would not consider that a very pleasant experience. Still, when browsing the web this is often what happens a lot too us. Entering the front page of a website we are meet with the best deal that company have regardless if we are looking for it or not.

This changed a lot of my thinking with my current project and we will do things a lot differently from now on. And I’m finding this “behavior” in more web situations. I’ve been using my iPad a lot lately and in my last post you could read a bit about the worst user experiences you can have when companies do not have a tablet strategy. One thing that is really beginning to bother me is the pop-ups for app downloads which more and more websited have. This message pops-up when you are browsing to their site:

“Do you want to download our app? Cancel/Yes”

We get this message before we even enter a site and regardless on why we got there, adding to that most apps do not have the information that we are looking for when we arrive to a website which means that I had to go through the process of downloading an app that did not have the info I was looking for. Therefore I have to go back to the website, to once again get the same pop-up, decline it and start browsing the non-mobile adapted site for the info I was looking for. Quite an unsettling experience, especially if the app I downloaded was marketed on the iPad but not even adapted for it.

Key take-away: If you do not want to develop a mobile adapted website, only suggest app downloads in the cases you know that your app contains what the visitor is looking for.

Hopefully most companies are considering how to adapt their website to tablets during 2012, if they have not already. Common strategies today contain for example mobile first, mobile & desktops sites and complementary native apps. However, until you have your permanent solution in place. Here are a few of the most “annoying” website habits to get rid of to not annoy your iPad visitors to much.

1. No more suggestions for mobile versions

Example: Nelly.com

Nelly.com is one of the sites that allows the user to choice between the mobile and the web version of the site. So far I have never found a mobile version of the site, which I wanted to use in the iPad so I suggest they remove this choice. I would actually remove this choice in the mobile as well, because if the mobile version is good enough this is the one the user would want to visit and then it should be the predefined choice. It is how ever important to always have a choice to return to the main site.

Suggestion: From an iPad the user want to visit the desktop site which in ideal world is adapted for touch.

2. No more suggestions of iPhone apps to iPad users

Example:  Volkswagen.co.uk

This is another common occurrence while surfing on the iPad is the recommendation of downloading an iPhone app to your iPad. Thought this actually work (to use iPhone apps in the iPad) it is rarely a pleasant experience.

Suggestion: Remove recommendation for iPhone app for visitors from an iPad

3. No more flash content – or create an alternative site

Example: Vagabond.com

I have really big trouble understanding websites who are completely based on flash these days, but apparently they are more common than I thought. Vagabond is one of them, who completely shuts out the iPad and iPhone visitor. If you would have a mobile site without flash this might be the only time where I would suggest you would point your iPad visitors to that.

Suggestion: Create a responsive website for iPad and iPhone users or even better remove the flash site completely.

Finally – think twice on what to use of your current solution

Example: Dinsko.se

Lastly I want to mention dinsko.se, which I honestly do not understand. When visiting their site I get the “normal” suggestion to download flash, but I also get a link to their webshop that is not built on flash. I am quite confused to why they do not only have a redirect to this site right away.  Because it took me at least tree visits to “find” this link as I the first time saw the flash comment and left. So I went to my desktop and find out what is on the flashbased part of the website and as far as I can see it is a campaign site on which almost all links go to the shop. Making the flash content fairly useless.

 Suggestion: Remove the flashbased campaign site and direct all traffic to the non-flash part of the website

This upcoming weekend I will spend among some of the most online savvy people in Sweden today @ Sweden social web camp. The event takes place on island calles Tjärö and my plan was to spend it in a tent.

Today, however, I saw the opportunity to win a place in the “hemnet-tent” – looks really cool. And bet of all for the geek in me – it has electricity. Anyway – to win you have to share ideas on how to improve hemnet and the best answer win.

Looking closer at hemnet I found a few tips which made my suggestions to long to tweet – so I figured I would blog about them instead. In that way – even if hemnet do not implement any of my ideas – someone else might.

About hemnet
Hemnet.se is the biggest market place for houses and apartments in Sweden. In 2008 and a survey showed that about 50 % of Swedes between 20-79 visited the site regularly. Considering the development of the site, that number is probably larger than that now.

7 tips to improve hemnet.se

1. Mark the area you want to live in

I would like to be able to draw a circle (by “hand”) on the map where I want to live. And from that see a list of all apartments in that area. Today I can find all apartments on the map but have to klick on each to view any details.

2. Remove “most expensive” – add “added since your latest search”

Hemnet remember your last search so you can easily go back to that. But as an addition to that I think the section “most expensive” which is part of the startpage could be changed to “new since your latest search” featuring the added object to the search you did during your last visit. And/or if your visiting from a ipad/phone this could be new objects in your area.

3.  Check boxes for apartment features

Hemnet has a search function that allows you to add keywords to the search. I would however want to have check boxes for apartment features. Balcony, evening sunset, washing machine or what ever it might be. This could also help the user with distinguishing what they are looking for.

4.  Compare objects

On electronics sites we often see comparing opportunities. Where you can mark a few objects and them compare the details. This is especially interesting if we had features. So that I could compare the price, amount of rooms, square meters, locations etc. Without having to switch tabs.

5. Recommended based on previous searches

If I visited the hemnet a few sites looking at objects with a balcony in one area, perhaps I would be open to an apartment with the building permit for a balcony in that area or a an area very close. These types tips could be build in to a recommendations engine.

6. QR codes to object pages

In a previous post I shared the idea to add QR codes to those signs put outside of apartment showings. So that people walking by randomly might enter since they can easily find the website and browse the object before to see if it is interesting (or in their price range). Perhaps hemnet could create QR codes that the realtors can use.

7.  Rating system

Let the user rate the apartment they looked at. So if they have many “starred” objects they will have a way to sort them. This could also be used for others. “4 start out of a 160 votes.”

Other tips:

• E-mail/SMS/add to calendar function for info about apartment viewings with map to be used for road description. (Saw the same tip from Axbom)
• Put starred object on top of the search result when they are part of them.
• Keep “latest search” and add two more of the latest in the advance search form.
• Blogger in bigger areas who share the apartment viewings they would attend and other tips.
• “What is important to me survery” where you get to answer a couple of question to help sort around your priorities.
• Calculator without object for saving – If I want an apartment in this area, that have a balcony, this many rooms it will cost this much. That means the cash contribution have to be at least this. I have this much, how much do I have to save each month for how long, with what interest rate, to get it?

I think that was all I could think of for now. So wish me good luck!

Tonight my brother and I spent a sometime downloading a few programs and other things. I rarely do things like this with him, which might be why I got a few revelations.

Both him and I are heavy computer users who spent 10 h + by the computer daily.  Both at work and in our free time, he’s a gamer and I have been a modest gamer.

What I realized what that we never ever read an instruction or try to follow a list of things. We only look for the “buttons” we are expecting to be there and perhaps read a title or a see a picture if there is one. (perhaps even the text in the picture, and yes, SEO people I know this sucks)

What this basically means is that every word you can cut from an “action” page, raise the chance of me reading another word.

So the next time you’re trying to explain a product of a download, cut the words, show some pictures and give us the download button.

I’m a frequent online shopper and probably to about 75 % of my purchases online. (Not counting food). Many online shops are far from easy and usable while others are splendid. However, there is one thing that almost all have in common.

They are all failing to seize the opportunity to have customers make additions to orders.

Most order confirmations contains the following

-       A specification of the order and payment

-       Delivery address and way of delivery

-       Company information

-       And a few info about web orders and changes

What I am missing is the option to see a few product related to what I bought which can be added to much purchase. In a normal store you rarely have the possibility to do up sale after the purchase, but in an online store you do. Because there are a few hours or days until your order will ship.

Many might hesitate to buy that extra product they looked at or that product accessory as the amount in the check-out is to high. But if they do the order and then get a reminder in the order confirmation or in a separate mail, they might consider it. This might also be a great time to give them a discount as well.

Think about it – how can you make up sale happen after the order has been placed, yet have it delivered with the original order?

My title pretty much says it all – if you are selling tickets online you have to consider the fact that most people do not have printers at home any more. Which means that either people wont buy because they are not sure if they need to print something or they will buy and be pissed when they realize that they needed a printer.

As smartphones continue to become mainstream people find that printers are not longer necessary. They do not need to print e-tickets etc, because they have the email in the phone. However, this mostly goes for things one have already purchase before. For example, I know that  I don’t need to print the ticket when flying SAS as long as I have the booking reference.

However, when buying other things, such as a ticket to Arlanda Express, I might not, simply because I have no idea if a booking reference will be enough or if I will have to print something.

Lesson learned: When selling tickets online make sure that people know if they need a printer or not!

When learning about social media and SEO, while blogging a lot, it is easy to focus on how to optimes post to work for these media. Writing titles what people react on and want to read more about on twitter as well as tagging the post with the proper tags for SEO, you’ve probably read all the tips.

But thinking about it, too little time is spend on how to get people to return to your blog and coming back because they recognize the name and the look. Maybe they don’t begin to subscribe the first time they read something they like, maybe not the second either. But if I find a blog three times that is producing material I enjoy, I will begin to follow it.

I’m writing about subject that a lot of other bloggers do too (though, I guess most topics are frequently blogged now) but add to that that the field is marketing and business development, then most of the authors have skills in these fields and know how to spread their blog. This means that both search terms and followers are difficult to compete with if you don’t create unique content.

Therefore I believe that more time should be spent on getting native traffic. How do you get people to return to you blog? Quality content, unique content, curiosity. You name it! I will try to focus on those things when I blog this year, we will see how it goes.

Do you remember all the comments, groups and pages that used to be when every Facebook made any significant changes? With the home feed o the profile? When they moved, added or removed things? Which made the users have the relearn what they knew. There have been quite a few of them.

This time, however, I have seen none. I’m talking about the introduction of the new profile. This could have been because people just got used to not having an impact on the development of the network, but I don’t think this is in. I thing it is because of the changed roll-out logistics. Instead of changing profiles in bulk (And let the swedes wait ;) they let the users decide on when they wanted to update their profile. Which have lead to people actually asking on how to make the change.

This is how twitter did it too a while back when they started rolling out the new layout. But as their changes have rarely (since I got on twitter at least) caused any big fuzz, this way of changing did not make as big of a difference on the reaction.

So what conclusion can we make from this? Quite a few, letting the users make the change have quite a few advantages:

• The geeks (me) that are not in the first bulk change does not feel left out.
• We do not risk any crash by rolling it out to everyone at the same time.
• And bet of all the users that is normally skeptical towards changes, feels like they are the one making the change.

Of course there is other time when this can be applied even when we are not talking about the bigger social networks. It could be a good thing when launching a website or a new product. – Add the new, but have the old one there for a while in the beginning.

Most companies create their website by putting together a list of demands and features they want, which they hand over to a developer who build this from scratch. Companies are usually very happy with this solution and sticks with it for a few years until it is outdated and then they send in a new list of demands.

Lately, however, I’ve realized that lots, I mean really many, companies have website which leave more frustration than anything else. I might visit a website of the bookstore I’m going to, only to realize that they don’t have their selection online. (This happened today) Something that is extremely frustrating, as nowadays I expect this from a website.

This got me thinking of how many times I check in on blogs which are better than newspapers and online stores which have more and better info than the IRL stores. Some purchases I might want  to do IRL but, don’t do, because the website of an e-company is just so much better.

What will big companies do, when smaller, unlikely competition begins to beat them? And fast?

We all know that things happened extremely fast on the web. But bigger companies realized how fast they can become out dated because of this. What happened when the web beats bureaucracy?

To my point earlier, about hiring a developer to create a website from scratch. What will happened when free versions are better than the customized? This scenario is possible because we like what we know, and if many uses the free one’s that is what we now. They don’t even have to be free, they just have to be made so they can be adapted. Developers can even use them, but will probably not be able to charge for as many hours.

Are big companies, and bureaucracies ready, for the power of good, simple web solutions?