What is mobile support?
Mobile support is a feature that makes applications and software usable on mobile devices. Operating systems with quality mobile support offer assistance in application development, software patches, security updates, and more.
Android and iOS are the two leading mobile operating systems with mobile support. Software vendors and applications support mobile on these two operating systems because they are the largest on the market.
Blackberry 10 and Windows Phone OS have experienced poor mobile support since they fell off the market. This means that although users can still purchase these devices, they’ll face limited applications, software updates, and security updates.
Companies creating an application with mobile support often choose mobile app development software to design all elements for internal or external use that perform specific functions beneficial to the user.
Types of mobile support
Each type of mobile support has different functionalities. The user experience is more tailored to mobile device usage as it becomes more popular.
- Desktop-only websites are sites not optimized for mobile, making it difficult for users to navigate on mobile devices. Text is also difficult to read and doesn't always display as intended.
- Responsive websites adjust to fit screen sizes on mobile devices and offer limited mobile support. Responsive websites often have larger text that is easier for mobile users to read, with buttons and links spaced out to be usable on smaller screens. However, site content that is not supported on mobile isn’t displayed.
- Mobile websites create a user experience designed specifically for mobile device users. They load faster, are scrollable, and display easy-to-read content.
- Native apps are designed for mobile operating systems. These mobile apps often utilize capabilities like GPS, barcode scanning, and local storage.
Mobile support benefits
Software, applications, and websites with mobile support are more user-friendly on mobile devices. This results in several benefits, ranging from better accessibility to higher mobile conversion rates.
- Faster load times: Sites and applications with mobile support load faster than those designed for a desktop experience. Sites with mobile support also avoid displaying video content that won’t play on mobile devices.
- Better user experience: Mobile support creates a user experience tailored to mobile devices. Text is easier to read, websites are scrollable, and applications have mobile-exclusive accessibility features.
- Utilize mobile device features: Features like GPS, cameras, local storage, and barcode scanners can be integrated into the mobile-supported application.
- Functional while on the go: Mobile support allows users access to the same functionality of a website or software conveniently from their mobile devices.
- Higher mobile conversion rates: Mobile devices account for a significant percentage of e-commerce sales. Creating a mobile-first user experience increases mobile conversion rates.
Mobile support best practices
Companies can improve their mobile support capabilities by tweaking their website. The following best practices make a website more mobile-friendly:
- Keep pages under 5MB: Mobile devices download all site content before a page loads. The smaller the page size, the faster it will load on mobile devices.
- Set letter spacing to 0px: Letter-spacing under 0px can result in overlapping text on mobile devices. Businesses can avoid this problem by setting letter spacing to 0px or higher.
- Edit the padding: Spacer blocks sometimes vanish on mobile devices. Create white space by increasing the padding of site elements.
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Use Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP): Enabling AMP will improve the loading speed of site pages.
Mobile support vs. mobile remote support
Mobile support is sometimes confused with mobile remote support. Mobile remote support is a device repair technique where technicians remotely access device settings and perform diagnostics to solve mobile device issues remotely. Mobile support is a feature that makes software and websites usable on mobile devices.
Martha Kendall Custard
Martha Kendall Custard is a former freelance writer for G2. She creates specialized, industry specific content for SaaS and software companies. When she isn't freelance writing for various organizations, she is working on her middle grade WIP or playing with her two kitties, Verbena and Baby Cat.
