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iPhone-Friendly Websites:
Should Law Firms Bother?

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Mobile devices seem to be everywhere. Over the past year or so, the iPhone has gone from techie gadget to mainstream computing tool. And as users of mobile devices (e.g., iPhones, Android devices and Blackberries) have become ubiquitous, law firms are now feeling the need to communicate more effectively with these “mobile users.”

So, what’s the best mobile solution? An iPhone app? A “mobile-ready” website? Something else?

Recently, when my firm asked these questions, the answers were unclear - so we decided to study the issue. What did we find? A lot of hype. And plenty of vendors pushing law firms to spend money on whiz-bang mobile solutions that don’t appear to offer much value.

Our Research

Our study revealed many interesting facts, the most important of which is that the “mobile visitors” to law firm websites fall into two basic categories:

• Visitor Type 1: People looking for contact information — Our research showed that 95% of mobile visitors to a law firm’s website were looking for a phone number, street address, email address or directions. These people wanted immediate access to contact info without any fumbling.
• Visitor Type 2: Returning visitors — These are people who have visited your site previously (via full-sized computer) and are coming back via mobile to get specific bits of info that they had seen previously.

What We Didn’t Find

Interestingly, our research didn’t find reason to create many of the apps and mobile websites that firms are currently implementing. For example, our data showed there to be:

• Little Appetite For iPhone Apps – We found very little interest in iPhone apps like the ones currently available from MoFo and Goulston & Storrs. The current batch of apps doesn’t offer content or functionality compelling enough to justify the hassle of downloading and installing an application. That said, we imagine that law firms could create truly valuable apps in the future – however, they haven’t yet come close.
• Little Interest in Casual Browsing – Apparently, mobile visitors aren’t interested in simply browsing your website to learn more about your firm. It appears that the form factor, screen size and/or connection speeds of mobile devices just don’t lend themselves to casual web browsing and research. At least for now, people are looking for specific bits of information when they visit via mobile device. However, this user behavior is likely to change as mobile devices get better.
• No Desire for “Pared-Down” Mobile Sites – These abbreviated sites are often referred to as “mobile websites” or “mobile-ready websites.” With this solution, mobile visitors see a pared-down version of the firm’s website that is designed to accommodate a smaller screen and slower connection. This is accomplished, in part, by showing fewer pages (and less content on each page) than the standard version of the website. Pared-down sites don’t address the needs of most mobile users (see Visitor Types 1 and 2, above). Thus, we didn’t find much interest in pared-down sites.

What We’re Recommending

Our research suggests that there is currently no compelling reason for a law firm to invest a significant amount of money in a mobile website or app. Instead, we are recommending the following “take it slow” approach:

• Get a mobile tune-up – Make sure that your current website can be seen and navigated on a mobile device (even if the user experience is a bit clunky). To do this, just test your website using an iPhone and have your programmer make necessary fixes to ensure that all of the content can be viewed. Most of the problems you encounter will probably involve Flash – since iPhones in particular don’t support this ubiquitous format. In most cases, these problems can be solved by adding static “substitute” graphics to any animated Flash graphics.
• Launch a mobile splash page – A mobile-friendly “splash page” would instantly direct mobile users to an optimized page that contains vital contact information such as your firm’s location, phone number and the contact info for each attorney. The splash page will serve the needs of the majority of your mobile visitors, who are simply looking for contact information (see Visitor Type 1, above). Additionally, the splash page should allow users to click over to the full-sized website if they want more detailed information, such as a full bio or an article. To see an example of a mobile splash page, just visit www.greatjakes.com using your iPhone or other mobile device.
• Wait and see what develops – We’re still very early in the history of mobile computing. Mobile technology is rapidly improving and mobile-user behavior is changing even faster. For most firms, it makes sense to make your site mobile-accessible (with a tune-up and splash page) and then wait to see what develops before investing any real money in a mobile website or app. In a year or two, the pace of change will probably have slowed down and it will be much clearer how your firm can best communicate with mobile users. Until then – just sit tight and observe.