By that headline, I do not mean that you need to stick a back button at the top of your website.

I do not refer to that solution to mock. As I mentioned yesterday, some companies just don’t have a use for a native mobile app in their product line. If mobile websites are the best choice, there are ways to mimic the experience that gives your customer something to hang their hat on.

What I really mean by “appifying” your mobile website is to take some of the information in this Compuware study that is currently getting a lot of play in the blogosphere. (I have read most of the study, and frankly I could spend every day for two weeks writing about the findings.) The most important – I believe – findings are that of the 85 percent of people surveyed who prefer mobile apps to sites, the top reasons given for that preference are:

• Convenience (55%)
• Speed (48%)
• Easier to browse (40%)

What great news for your customers and their mobile sites, you can factor all of those things into their mobile strategy!

How you do that, of course, is up to you. It is hard to quantify those three criteria of success, which is of course one of the reasons they were probably given. If you ask some hard questions, though, it is very possible to reach the proper conclusion. 

Could it require a new architecture design? Sure could. I never said achieving these things would be easy.

I am currently asking these questions at my company, and I think it will result in better product offerings. In the end, the solution may not be as difficult as you think. Just don’t be afraid to ask.