What's the difference between a "mobile site" and an "app" ?
The main differences between a mobile site and an app are:
- Real estate
- Convenience.
They function pretty much the same. And though a mobile site is always available out there in the world wide web, it's accessed through the phone's browser each time. You have to either search for or type in the web address Every. Single. Time. Oh the horror!! An app, on the other hand, is downloaded from either iTunes or Google Playstore to your phone once and then you have a nifty little icon sitting right there on your screen forevermore! One tap and you're IN. And with today's busy lifestyle, one tap is all we really have time for, right?
If your city's website is a few years old and is not mobile-ready (meaning it automatically detects when it's being accessed by a mobile device and displays the mobile version of the site), then it is all the more important that you have some type of a mobile presence. And an app is the coolest way to do just that. Not for the sake of being cool, of course.....but to offer service to the large demographic in your community who chooses -- for convenience sake or due to financial restraints -- to forego the big computer and DSL in lieu of a tiny little computer they can carry in their pocket. And apps are way cool.
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To preview the Louisiana 311 App, click on the iphone photo above and login with the following credentials:
- USERNAME: Tammy@Kel-Ar.com
- PASSWORD: LA311App
Click on the "PREVIEW" button and then click through (Allow/Accept/Okay) until the preview of the actual mobile app is displayed. You can then try out the various functions of the app.
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311 Smartphone App
As our phones get smarter and our lives get busier, a growing number of us find ourselves doing business on the go with tablets, phablets and phones as much or more than on a full sized computer. It's not enough to have a laptop....no, it must be smaller, LIGHTER, FASTER!! And along with these amazing devices, comes a whole new array of issues with the information we're trying to access.
Websites can no longer be designed to simply be compatible with the numerous web browsers being used on pc's. They now also have to be compatible -- and not only compatible, but dually designed and beautiful and user friendly -- with mobile devices which have smaller screens and completely DIFFERENT operating systems. Pages have to be laid out differently, navigation bars re-designed and unnecessary graphics removed for a cleaner, faster mobile experience.