Mobile Websites in Higher Education

WhatNowGrad – Capabilities and Site Design | Slide 1

Mobile Websites in Higher EducationAn EMG Webinar

Presented by: Elliot Darvick04/14/2011

Introduction Welcome and Hello.About EMG Webinars

l Q&A session will occur at end of presentation

l Presentation will be recorded and posted to YouTube, Vimeo, & EMG Website

l Slides will be uploaded to SlideShare and will be available for download

l Links to the presentation will be sent to all attendeesAbout Today’s Presenter

l Elliot Darvick, Strategy & Media Team

l Based in Los Angeles Office

l Primarily working with education clients

l Proud owner of HTC EVO 4G

Introduction Welcome and Hello.About EMG

l Full-service interactive marketing agency

l Headquartered in Orange County, CA

l Established in 1999

l Past & current clients include:

STRATEGY

Research, Planning & Analysis

EXPERIENCE

Personalization, Engagement & Entertainment

RELATIONSHIPS

Awareness, Influence & Social Marketing

PERFORMANCE

Campaigns, Testing & Intelligence

TECHNOLOGY

Development, Customization & Integration

Introduction Welcome and Hello.This webinar began with a quest to understand two things:

l What percentage of higher education websites have a mobile version?

l What purpose do these mobile sites serve, and who is their audience?


l What percentage higher education websites have a mobile version?

l What purpose and audience do these mobile websites serve?

In the process we set two objectives:

l Use our scorecard to evaluate mobile websites in the higher education space

l Learn from our observation accumulated during research




From all this we hope you gain:

l A better understanding of the mobile website landscape in higher education

l For those with mobile initiatives underway: Inspiration for evolving your efforts

l For those with mobile ambitions: Firepower for building a case to move forward







From all this we hope you gain:

l A better understanding of the mobile website landscape in higher education

l For those with mobile initiatives underway: Inspiration for evolving your efforts

l For those with mobile ambitions: Firepower for building a case to move forward

Remember… ask questions! @EMGTheAgency @edarvick




AgendaWhere we go from here

l What is a Mobile Website?

l Relevant Statistics

l Research Methodology & Results

l Scorecard Framework & Evaluations

l Observed Best Practices

l We Need a Mobile Website! Making Your Case

What is a Mobile Website? Setting the contextMobile Websites in Higher Education = Ambitious Webinar Title!

l Defined as a version of an institution’s main website optimized for a mobile device

l An institution can have many different mobile websites and mobile experiences

l Mobile websites are light, can have app like features, and cater to different needs








Source: eMarketer, Dec. 2010

Relevant Statistics: Mobile Device Trends

U.S. smartphone users will nearly double from 2011 to 2015

l There is an exponential growth in the number of individuals who use smartphones

l 80% of all U.S. mobile internet users are smartphone owners

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

40.4

60.2

73.3

84.4

93.4

101.5

109.5

U.S. Smartphone Users, 2009-2015 (millions)

Relevant Statistics: Browsing Trends

The way we access the internet is rapidly shifting to mobile devices

l By 2014 it has been projected more people will access the internet via mobile

Source: Morgan Stanley Research, April 2010

Relevant Statistics: Search TrendsHow users find your website is shifting to mobile too

l Google recently revealed mobile searches have increased six-fold in two years1

l Mobile queries now make up almost 20% of all college and university queries2

2. Source: Google Internal Research, October 20101. Source: New York Times, April 2011

2

Relevant Statistics: Trends in Teen Mobile Communication“The mobile phone has become the favored communication hub for the majority of American teens.”

l 83% of 17 year olds own a cell phone

l 27% access web via mobile phone

l Of teens from households earning <$30,000 annually, 41% go online with cell phones

l 44% of black teens and 35% of Hispanic teens use their cell phones to go online

Source: Pew Internet, Teens and Mobile Phones, April 2010








Research Methodology: How we collected dataWe surveyed the websites of 345 Division I colleges and universities

l We chose Division I for a wide cross-section of institution characteristics

l Processed all websites through a mobile browser emulator

l Manually checked for mobile websites at each institution (URL appendages, links)

l Recorded a wide-variety of data along with qualitative observations

Research Results: Percentage of Schools with Mobile Website

Mobile Site

No Mobile Site

A majority of the sites we examined did not have a mobile version

l Only 37% of websites in our research had a mobile version, 63% did not

Mobile Websites as a Percentage of all Websites

63%

37%

Research Results: Analysis of Navigation Elements

Higher education mobile websites are very student/campus focused

l News dominates mobile websites, although some are more “practically” focused

l Only 4% of mobile websites featured a link to admissions, 1% mention alumni

Campus Life

Email

Intranet

About

Safety

Transportation

Admissions

Library

Social Media

Academics

Athletics

Maps

Directory

Calendar & Events

News

Top 15 Mobile Website Navigation Elements Ranked by Frequency of Appearance

Research Results: Analysis of Navigation Elements

Higher education mobile websites are very student/campus focused

l News dominates mobile websites, although some are more “practically” focused

l Only 4% of mobile websites featured a link to admissions, 1% mention alumni

Campus Life

Email

Intranet

About

Safety

Transportation

Admissions

Library

Social Media

Academics

Athletics

Maps

Directory

Calendar & Events

News

Top 15 Mobile Website Navigation Elements Ranked by Frequency of Appearance

Research Results: Methods of Mobile Website Exposure

Amazingly, 48% of mobile websites have little or no public exposure

l 34% of main websites detect mobile browsers and redirect to mobile version

l 18% of main websites offer “mobile version” links on main website home page

No LinkHome Page LinkDetection

Breakdown of Mobile Website Exposure Methods

34%

18%

48%

Research Results: URL Structures

A majority of mobile websites follow the simple “m.” URL structure

l Landing page URL should be short: Under 40 characters

m.

/mobile

other

URL Structures of Mobile Websites, Frequency

69%

13%

19% http://m.baylor.eduhttp://www.butler.edu/mobilehttp://mobile.northwestern.edu








Scorecard Framework: How EMG evaluates mobile websitesCategory 1: Relevancy

lll User Group: Students

lll User Group: Prospective Students

lll User Group: Other?

Category 2: Attraction

lll Does experience reflect brand visual elements?

lll Does experience possess high production values?

lll Does experience layout encourage exploration?

Category 1: Relevancy




Scorecard Framework: How EMG evaluates mobile websites




lll Does experience layout encourage exploration? Category 3: Usability

lll Does design encourage recognition over recall (i.e. does user have to think?)









lll User Group: Other?Category 2: Attraction



lll Does experience layout encourage exploration? Category 3: Usability

lll Does design encourage recognition over recall (i.e. does user have to think?)Category 4: Delivery of Experience

lll How quickly does the site load?

lll Is the site compatible with a variety of devices?

lll What is the depth of mobile optimization?

lll How accessible is the mobile website?


Scorecard Evaluation: http://m.utexas.edu


l User Group: Students

l User Group: Prospective Students• Navigation skews heavily towards current students• Admissions doesn’t get a link, academics prominent though


l Does experience reflect brand visual elements?

l Does experience possess high production values?

l Does experience layout encourage exploration? • School colors and banding are consistent throughout• Great use of icons to represent the action • Icons also breed familiarity with mobile users.• Clear understanding of location of current page and nav• Content is displayed with the appropriate amount of info

Scorecard Evaluation: http://m.utexas.edu

Category 3: Usability

l Does design encourage recognition over recall?• Action laid out clearly and to correct scale• Users can quickly read and understand where they are• Users well prepared for what comes after the click

Category 4: Delivery of Experience

l How quickly does the site load?

l Is the site compatible with a variety of devices?

l What is the depth of mobile optimization?

l How accessible is the mobile website? • Load time = 2.9 seconds• Layout renders correctly for a variety of devices, orientations• 100% of main navigation links point to mobile-optimized pages• Site served with mobile link on desktop home page

Scorecard Evaluation: http://mobile.usc.edu



l User Group: Prospective Students• Key student resources such as academics and athletics absent• Admissions doesn’t get a link in the main navigation




l Does experience layout encourage exploration? • School colors and logo are present throughout the site • Inconsistent color scheme on the inner pages• Navigation is recognizable and easy to understand• Excellent use of icons and subtle detail to guide users• Arrows quickly orient users toward specific paths

Scorecard Evaluation: http://mobile.usc.edu


l Does design encourage recognition over recall?

• All actions easily understandable and recognizable at first glanceCategory 4: Delivery of Experience




l How accessible is the mobile website? • Load time = 3.5 s• Layout renders correctly for a variety of devices, orientations• 100% of main navigation links point to mobile-optimized pages• Site served with mobile link on desktop home page

Scorecard Evaluation: http://m.vanderbilt.edu



l User Group: Prospective Students• Prospective student-friendly mobile website• Dedicated space for connecting on social networks




l Does experience layout encourage exploration? • School colors present but not used throughout all pages• Good background header, but icons lack branding• Layout and navigation are spaced well for user interaction• Great use of transitions and custom loading animation• Lack of icons slow understanding of possible actions

Scorecard Evaluation: http://m.vanderbilt.edu


l Does design encourage recognition over recall?• User easily understands with the help of text and arrows indicators• Persistent bottom navigation always allows user to reorientCategory 4: Delivery of Experience




l How accessible is the mobile website? • Load time = 7.7 s• Layout renders correctly for a variety of devices, orientations• 100% of main navigation links point to mobile-optimized pages• Site served with mobile link on desktop home page








Observed Best Practices: Insights to guide your effortsThink Fast! Design Mobile Experiences for Speed.

l Mobile phones are all about quick experiences (SMS, BBM, Apps)

l Use minimalistic coding, avoid pop-ups and redirects

l In December W3C codified their Mobile Web Best Practices as a web standard

l Check out the W3C validator: http://validator.w3.org/mobile

http://validator.w3.org/mobile

Know your audience (again)

l The audience for a desktop site is very different than a mobile website

l Given limited real estate, you must be very in tune with audience needs

l Consider creative ways to cater to multiple audiences

Observed Best Practices: Insights to guide your efforts

Source: XKCD

It’s an extension, not an afterthought; brand accordingly.

l Going from one channel to the next should be visually seamless

l Subtle design elements can go a long way

l You wouldn’t let a brochure go unbranded, why a mobile website?


Go deep! Optimization doesn’t end with your home page.

l Be thoughtful of where your links send users, proactively control experience

l When you can’t optimize any further, prepare your user for environment change

l Having to state this best practice will one day be irrelevant…


Let data be your guide. Use analytics to make decisions.

l Use data to understand what handsets people are using to visit your site

l Use data to understand geography of mobile visits

l Use data to understand where mobile visits go on your desktop website


App or Mobile Website? Yes.

l Mobile websites can deliver a very “App” like experience

l Decide what you are looking to accomplish first

l If you are going to offer both options, make sure you differentiate the experiences

Build a Mobile Website Build a Mobile AppPros Pros

Cross-platform ease High-production experience

Instant updates to content Functionality possibilities

Instant delivery of experience Ease of repeat usage

Potential for lower cost Doesn’t rely on web access

Cons Cons

Limiting functionality Must go through “store”

Requires internet connection Multi-platform costs

No presence on mobile device Rely on users to update









We Need a Mobile Website! Making Your CaseUse your own internal analytics data to prove need

l Very similar to using current website analytics during planning stages

l Set a threshold; when number of mobile visitors cross it, take action

l Study devices, geographic regions, content consumption and trending

We Need a Mobile Website! Making Your CaseUse external research to illustrate pressing trends

l There are plenty of free resources for external research on mobile trends

l Conduct your own surveys formally or informally

l Study how your competition is utilizing mobile channels

We Need a Mobile Website! Making Your CaseWork with your CMS vendor to explore possible solutions

l Speak with your vendor; a mobile website might be more turn-key than you think

l The MIT Mobile Web Open Source Project was created for universities to use

l Boring is better than bounce

We Need a Mobile Website! Making Your CaseDemonstrate potential of new front for connecting with prospects

l Mobile advertising channels carry their own set of economics, often better

l Explore new channels with no desktop alternative such as applications

l Work with an agency to create test campaign budget

Source: Google Internal Research, October 2010Source: Google Internal Research, October 2010

Recap: If you take away just 10 thingsThe Landscape

l U.S. smartphone users will nearly double from 2011 to 2015

l By 2014 more people will access the internet via mobile devices than desktops

l Mobile search queries now make up almost 20% of all college and university queries

l 83% of 17 year olds own a cell phone, 27% access the mobile web

l Only 37% of D1 schools have a mobile version of their main website

Guidance

l Mobile experiences must be fast and intuitive (think SMS)

l Given limited real estate, focusing on your audience needs is crucial

l Your mobile website is an extension of your brand, not an afterthought

l Mobile optimization doesn’t end with your home page

l Let your current site analytics data be your guide

WhatNowGrad – Capabilities and Site Design | Slide 46

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Mobile Websites in Higher Education