Google, DudaMobile Mobilize Free Web Sites

SmartPhone-BlackberryInitiatives like Google's GoMo, along with its partnership with DudaMobile, which allows companies to build and customize mobile Web sites, hope to drive the increase in mobile Web site and app creation.

DudaMobile's do-it-yourself site builder converts regular Web sites into mobile-friendly sites in five steps. The tool also enables companies to add a click-to-call button, mobile maps and Google AdSense. Sites created with the GoMo-DudaMobile tool will be hosted free for one year.

The tool doesn't use a responsive Web design method, and it's optimized for smartphones only.

The software reads the content and the structure of the site, including navigation, colors, and images. Then the tool lays out the content in optimized templates for mobile devices.

Mobile use might be growing, but Google's most recent numbers show that 62% of its largest advertisers still do not have a mobile site. Nearly three-quarters of mobile Web users expect to complete a simple transaction, like checking their bank balance in a minute or less, before giving up and exiting the site, according to research conducted by Equation Research on behalf of Gomez.

Some 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing from their phone. Others simply exit if a Web site loads too slowly, with 40% admitting they would visit a competitor's mobile site instead. Sixty-three percent are less likely to buy from the same company via other purchase channels if they experience a problem conducting a mobile transaction, according to the study.

Mobile phone users expect sites to load almost as quickly, or faster, on their mobile phone, compared with the computer they use at home. Those 35-44 are most likely to expect sites to load just as quickly or faster on their mobile phones.

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