The mobile user market is exploding:

• As of January 2011 there are 83 million people on the mobile web. Source: Nielsen’s State of the Media Report.
•  Mobile internet use is growing rapidly. It is projected to be greater than desktop internet use within four years (much faster growth than desktop internet adoption rate). Source: Stanley Research.
• Every one second four babies are born on earth and 32 mobile phones are sold. Source: UX&D

This audience is too large to ignore. While there was an industry craze for apps a couple years ago, research is showing developing a mobile website to reach these potential customers is a better investment.Google recently released the findings of a smartphone-user study that the company did with Ipsos OTX at the end of 2010. It showed that 27 percent of purchases made via mobile phone were through mobile websites and only 22 percent through an app. According to Pinch Mobile, mobile apps everywhere, but “stickiness” of free apps remains low. Just 20 percent of users even return to run a free application again the day after it’s downloaded.Mobile websites offer many advantages. First, you can put e-commerce functions first and foremost, making mobile sales just a tap away. 43 million people check their e-mail daily with a smartphone. With a well-designed mobile site you can provide an excellent web experience for customers who subscribe to your e-mail updates or e-newsletters. A mobile site allows potential customers to access a mobile user-friendly interface on the go, visiting your website immediately when they see offline media that attracts attention.Ideal mobile website design is clean, fast, sleek, functional and optimized for mobile channels. FASTSIGNS has begun offering custom mobile web sites to help our customers communicate their messages more effectively and take advantage of the exploding mobile marketing technologies available. Be sure to visit FASTSIGNS mobile site if you have not yet seen it!