Okay, so maybe it's a stretch to say transformers are "mobile-friendly." At the same time, they're pretty dang similar. We'd like to explain how transformers are like mobile-friendly websites, and also how we make a site mobile-friendly. It isn't just a switch.
Don and Dave Explain
As a marketer, I wanted to understand how mobile-friendly actually works. "I've been writing about this non-stop, but how is it accomplished?" To get the details, I visited Development to talk to Don (Art Director and Strategist) and Dave (Front End Developer).
I asked Don and Dave to explain mobile-friendly in a way that I could explain to our audience, and could also debunk the myth that it's some sort of plug-in. "A website doesn't know how to rearrange itself," said Dave, "A good designer has to do that, to make things display in a meaningful way."
"It's like squishing a painting and expecting it to retain its shape," added Don.
Another example given was a metaphor of the Transformers. To explain how a website is before being mobile-friendly and how it can be made mobile-friendly, I'm gonna run with that metaphor.
Transforming a Website
Think about a transformer. Bumblebee is a giant transforming robot that turns into a Chevy Camaro (along with other super sweet cars). But think on this; Bumblebee didn't transform from a regular old Chevy to a robot. He had to have all of the gears. If he were "built," the builder would have had to have transforming in mind.
In the same way that you can't put a CD in your car and expect it to become a transformer, you can't expect going mobile-friendly to be a plug-in, switch, installation, or a magic word. According to Don, you have to rebuild your website from the ground up, adding all of the pieces of coding that mesh with your existing website design.
What it Takes
It takes strategy. Strategy from a designer to, as Dave said, "make things display in a meaningful way." Of course, this is only part of what is done, I simply can't fit all of it in this blog post. (Back on topic).
People on a mobile site are not looking for a giant slideshow that takes up their entire screen. They want your address, they want something they can click on to give you a call, and they want to know who you are. Hopefully, this helps you visualize the process of mobile-friendly as much as it helped me. Have a great Tuesday!
