Turn Actinic Website into iPhone / iPad app??

[neilspinney]

Has anyone out there turn there website into a app for the iPhone/iPad or even Android??

I would very much like to hear from you if you have, as I am looking to add this to our site in the near future!

Neil Spinney

[jont]

Apple are cracking down on the software allowed to create iPhone apps (something to do with non support of Adobe Flash) - what is it you are wanting to do?

[Duncan Rounding]

It might be better (certainly a bit easier) to create an alternative layout for mobile phones that suit the smaller browser screen. The checkout and other fixed width tables may be a pain mind.

[jont]

Is it just for accessing the site? I read it as creating an app for it

[pinbrook]

I use the amazon app for iphone. its not as good as "real" browsing, but useful if you know what you want especially as amazon store your cc detail.

i think there is mileage in an iphone theme and being converted to an app.. if I knew how to i'd have a go

[Mark H]

Just to present the alternative view.......

I find it incredibly irritating when I'm using my iPhone and I am presented with "dumbed down" versions of websites such as Amazon. The iPhone is perfectly capable of browsing full websites (except for Flash ) and I hope that cut down sites will die a death in time

[Mike Hughes]

I would guess the solution to the 'dumbed' down mobile experience is to give the visitor the option of viewing the full website.

I certainly support the creation of mobile pages in Actinic for mobile users as a first step. This would be usable by all mobile users, not just the iphone ones.

Whether an additional set of pages need to created that are viewable with an iphone app is less important for me.

Mike

[leehack]

Choice is the key thing and an easy to find button top left to switch between the two. Blackberry users for instance will want the dumbed down version.

[pinbrook]

Just to present the alternative view.......

I find it incredibly irritating when I'm using my iPhone and I am presented with "dumbed down" versions

Yes but what we want here is choice.

Personally I have installed the Amazon app,this is makes browsing on iphone easier for me, Amazon is a messy site at the best of times, and really struggles on a small screen.

For the purposes of this discussion which is better?

an Iphone theme for an Actinic site or an app?

Probably both - alot of people do not buy sufficiently often from actinic shops thus a theme would help, but for those actinic sites that do have repeat business an app would also be helpful.

[neilspinney]

Many thanks for all the replies!

What I need to able to do is let customers using there phone (be it iPhone or Android) on our website and easily buy from us. I want to be able to offer our customers a easy to use site from there phone. I use WPtouch iPhone Theme for turning a site running WordPress into a smart phone site. It would be nice to be able to have a plugin for Actinic which would do the same. Plus it would cut down on the time it would take to rewrite the site!

Neil

[Rich Brady]

The key, while you are waiting for an app, is larger, easy to use navigation and image call to actions that allow users to navigate your site without having to pinch zoom.

It could be argued that your should already use these ideas in your normal layout anyway, highlighting the important areas, especially the "Buy" button.

[Benjamin Dyer]

I did write something for Marketing Donut on this subject a while ago, might be useful:

http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/mark...erce-#comments

[Mike Hughes]

I'd disagree with your article Ben.

On the one hand, we're all looking to offer customers a richer, more informative experience with lots of products images, videos, reviews, Q+As, Also bought, related products, etc. Adding in a navigation structure that lets customers quickly find what they're looking for and all the buying info they need such as delivery prices, returns policy, etc. Often we're looking at expanding the page width to accomodate the extra information to make the most of the space available.

For mobiles we're looking at a completely different set of objectives. The main challenge here is not to provide as much info as we can but rather to make the most of the small screen and limited functionality. To me this means limiting the information we present and using larger, clearer icons for key functions such as buy now, search, navigation, checkout, etc.

I doubt you can do a good job of trying to achieve both on the one page. Far better to accept that the two are different and provide alternative pages for the two.

Mike

[pinbrook]

I doubt you can do a good job of trying to achieve both on the one page. Far better to accept that the two are different and provide alternative pages for the two.

I'd agree with this.

I prefer the Amazon app on my phone, in preference to the full blown site or the iphone theme. However there are others who say browsing using a standard theme is fine for them.

A savvy site is going to provide a choice so everyone is happy It doesnt take much to alienate a customer, it takes much more effort to engage them.

[Mark H]

Surely an iPhone/iPad app is not an option for the majority of Actinic shops, as I would have thought that Apple are unlikely to accept an app unless it is for a major retailer. Also, the customer would have to find and load the app, so they would be people who were buying from a particular retailer on a very regular basis (eg Amazon) which narrows the field down considerably.

A cut down website is an option, but the other problem I have with these is that they don't include much of the on page information and "eye candy" which is presumably on the full website in the first place to increase conversion rates, so taking people straight to a cut down site has to be damaging to conversion rates doesn't it, even with repeat customers who might impulse buy from the main site if they see "best sellers" etc??