As LymeLight prepares to launch its mobile website service for building mobile versions of business websites, I found the timing of this Inc. article perfect. In “Better for Business: Mobile Web or App?” author Kim Boatman does an excellent job comparing mobile websites to apps (stand-alone applications for smartphones), including benefits and cost. Not sure if you need either one? The simple response is yes, you’d be wise to invest now because millions of people own and use smartphones daily, and the numbers will grow exponentially. Check out Joshua Odmark’s article, “Top 10 Reasons Your Website Should Go Mobile” for some very compelling evidence of your need for a mobile presence.

Onward, we delve into the question: To go mobile via website or web app? For most small and mid-sized businesses, the answer will be a mobile website, mostly due to its substantially lower cost. Part of the cost for applications comes in needing a separate app for each platform, and at the very least, you’ll want apps for Android and iPhone, but RIM still holds a solid portion of the market. There are six parts to the debate over which medium is best for your purpose, as Boatman points out:

1. Utility

A mobile website will work across platforms, while an app developed for the iPhone won’t work on the Android and vice versa.


2. Need

Do you provide a service to customers, or will a recurring action be necessary? Go with the app. Is your business location-based, or are you looking for something sales-based? Get a mobile website.

3. Traffic

A website that gets a lot of traffic from mobile users may benefit more from having a mobile version than from having an app.

4. Content

For a site that is mostly text-based, a mobile website is best; a website that is graphic-oriented could fare better with an app counterpart.

5. Availability

A service that is used regularly is best in app format, but if users only need to visit once in a while, a mobile-friendly website is perfect.

6. Cost

Once again, a mobile website will cost much less than a mobile app. The mobile version may cost 50-80% of the cost of your full website, but an application will run $35,000-50,000 per platform.

I also like this list from Best Rank, Inc. of types of businesses that benefit most from having mobile websites or applications:

• Content Driven News Sites/Blogs
• e-Commerce Stores
• Impulse Purchases (example: pizza delivery)
• On Demand Services (example: taxis)
• Local Businesses (example: restaurants)
• Emergency Services (example: tow trucks)

Look for more information on LymeLight’s mobile website services within the coming months.

There are things that we, as professionals, students or hobbyists, tend to take for granted as far as what’s “obvious” or “common sense.”  Cloud computing is one of those things that I figured out based on what I knew previously about the Internet and its inner workings, and I always assumed that if I could figure it out, it must be as obvious as tying one’s shoe.  Recently, though, a cohort, who is by no means a stupid person, asked me what “the cloud” is.  This friend has been studying biological science for years, so as dumbfounded as I was that such an intelligent individual wouldn’t know what cloud computing is, it quickly occurred to me that the term still isn’t used widely enough to be “common sense.” Would you believe me if I told you that you probably use some form of cloud computing on a regular basis?

“The Cloud” is basically another term for the Internet. I say that this is the basic definition because in connotation, it is more used to describe the applications that we use via the Internet, including email clients, document and graphics editors, and virtual storage. You’re probably familiar with Google’s Gmail, and you may even use Google Docs or Google Apps. Perhaps you use an app like Piknic to edit your photos for sharing or Dropbox to share various files with friends, family and coworkers. You may be using Mozy to backup your computer regularly so as not to lose your important files. These applications all offer the unique benefit of collaboration that traditional software can’t so easily offer.

Is there a security risk? Sure, but the engineers of these online software are ever-so-aware of your skepticism, and they’re likely working much harder on the security aspect than are producers of ‘normal’ software. Also bare in mind that just because it rests solely on your hard drive does not guarantee security: Viruses and other malware are built smarter and stealthier now, so as they say, abstinence [from the Internet] is the only way to truly avoid…malware

Cloud computing seems like something you’d like to try out, but you’re not sure where to start or what is even necessary. Going to a completely Internet-based can be useful for growing businesses, but making a huge shift in that direction can be overwhelming. Each application will have a bit of a learning curve, so I’d recommend starting with your email. Programs like Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Office make a more secure connection to your business email because rather than forwarding to a different address, thereby sending it further through cyberspace, they pull email directly from your email server to your desktop program. But consider that web-based email applications let you check email from anywhere—your desktop, laptop, Smartphone or a someone else’s computer—so if you’re constantly on the go, then the minor risk is often worth it. Google Apps (at merely $50/year) includes ample space for email, so you can start there and gradually move into the other apps, integrating them into your company’s work environment one-by-one.

Around the same time, getting started with an Internet-based computer backup system will save you from the seemingly inevitable frustration of losing documents in a disaster. Even static electricity can ruin your motherboard or hard drive, forever erasing your most critical documents and your sweetest photographed memories. Services like Carbonite and Mozy will automatically back up specified folders, and there are countless other programs, so do some research to find the best one for your purposes. These services may not have cheap price tags, but they become invaluable when even the simplest incident leaves you with nothing.

With the Cloud being such a new development, we’re all still learning about it, so I’d love to hear of any other applications you use and like or if you have any more questions! Leave a comment or drop me an email (see the green envelope icon in the first sidebar?) and I’ll update the site with new information as we go.