Latest Version

[edit] This plugin is now available via the official WordPress Plugin Directory.

The latest release version is v1.0 packaged as gs-gomobi-redirector.zip [MD5:f21cde1d22a02a46d155d028a4a9001a]
You can manually install by unzipping this file into the wp-content/plugins directory of your WordPress website OR you can upload and install it via the WP dashboard Plugins panel (Add New / Upload)

Introduction

We were pleased to see goMobi 1.7 introduce a WordPress plugin option to their mobile-redirection tools. Upon closer inspection of the plugin we note that it uses the Javascript redirection method which is the least-preferred option. A server-side redirect mechanism is the preferred option. In the case of WordPress this is PHP based.

As a number of our goMobi customers use WordPress for their full-size websites we elected to build a WordPress plugin based on the official PHP redirect code generated by the goMobi Site Builder tool.

We have released this plugin as a open-source solution for the goMobi community.

Support

This plugin is supported on a best effort basis. This plugin is in daily use on our own website along with our customer sites so we are eating our own dogfood so to speak. Any issues we find will be fixed and the plugin updated.

You probably chose WordPress because of it’s flexibility and extensibility. Much of this flexibility is enabled via plugins. Sometimes plugins dont’ play nicely together.  If you experience issues with this plugin, give us some detail of the problem you are seeing and we’ll try to help. Your feedback will help improve the plugin over time.

BeerWare

Creation and ongoing support of this plugin requires time and skill. If you find this plugin helps you achieve the goal for your website then please consider buying us a beer via the following link.

Thanks for your support.

Many parents are on the go all the time, juggling childcare and work tasks is just part of a normal day for them. The smartphone or mobile phone plays a big part in coordinating and keeping the day on schedule.

Tania Moriarty is the Managing Director of CASPA. Tania noted that smartphones are a common sight amongst the mothers and fathers of children enrolled in CASPA.

Tania sees goMobi as great way to put essential CASPA information right in the parents hands. The click to call feature pre-dials the number for them. Maps guide them to the right location, Programme and Policy information are all just a tap away.

Satisfied parents can easily share the CASPA site with others via the Tell A Friend feature. Referrals are a powerful tool and goMobi makes it easy for parents to spread the word amongst their peers about CASPA.

We enjoyed creating the custom buttons from images supplied by Tania. They reinforce the fun activity-based nature of the CASPA programmes.

You can view the CASPA goMobi site on a smartphone, tablet or desktop device.

Their filleting knives have been developed by Dean Grooby based on his 27 years experience in the seafood industry. Dean already operates a ecommerce site selling his range of knives and related products.

He saw the value of a goMobi website for increasing his online reach to include customers using smartphones, tablets and mobile phones

We used some of Deans product images to create a set of custom buttons, adding emphasis to the products and specialist nature of his business.

We used the e-commerce feature of goMobi to enable online product sales. With secure payment processing via Paypal, customers are able to order and pay for their purchases directly on their phone.

We were excited to learn that the m.knifetechnz.co.nz site was selected as goMobi Site of the Week in the goMobi Spotlight for 7 December, 2012

Visit m.knifetechnz.co.nz to see the site in action.

As QR-Codes become more visible on print advertising in New Zealand I thought it would be interesting to see whether they are being used correctly.

It stands to reason that a QR-Code is going to be scanned by a mobile user with a smartphone or tablet device. For this reason, the target website or webpage should be mobile-friendly. Many advertisers just link the QR-Code to a standard desktop website. This delivers a challenging experience to the smartphone user, having to pinch/zoom/pan around a full size webpage to find information is a frustrating experience. Basic functions like click-to-call, find us and contact us are either not present or diffficult to use. Normal links which are easy to click with a mouse, are notoriously difficult to tap with your finger and often the user finds they have accidentally tapped an adjacent link.. a costly operation in terms of time wasted getting back to the original page in order to try and hit the desired link.

When faced with these challenges a mobile user will often give up, putting it in the too hard basket. All of a sudden, the advertiser’s incorrect use of the QR-Code has resulted in a lost customer… the complete opposite of the desired result.

About the QR-Code Weather Report

Every weekend I read two major New Zealand newspapers. The Weekend Press, a Christchurch based publication and the Sunday Star Times, a national publication. I scan every QR-Code that appear in these two publications and rate them using a simple spreadsheet. The QR-Code Weather Report will be published periodically.

By recording incorrect or sub-standard use of QR-Codes I hope that advertisers will lift their game and ensure that when a customer takes the time to scan their code they receive a decent mobile experience.

By recording correct uses of QR-Codes I hope  that advertisers will be encouraged to make wider use of QR-Codes.

Congratulations to those advertisers who scored a 5!

To those with lower scores, I commend you for being forward thinking and including QR-Codes in your advertising strategy. With very little effort you can improve the experience that customers receive when they scan your code. Contact us if you would like to discuss mobile friendly solutions in more detail.

]]> http://www.geekstuff.co.nz/2012/11/11/the-new-zealand-qr-code-weather-report-for-11-nov-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.geekstuff.co.nz/2012/04/04/are-the-top-nz-brands-ready-for-mobile/ http://www.geekstuff.co.nz/2012/04/04/are-the-top-nz-brands-ready-for-mobile/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:49:01 +0000 davepugh http://www.geekstuff.co.nz/?p=198 Last week I read a idealog Magazine blog post entitled Meet NZ’s most valuable brands which was based on the 2012 Brand Finance Global 500 report.

I thought it would be interesting to see how many of these top brands cater for the Mobile Internet user by providing a mobile-optimised website or landing-page (see methodology below)

NZ's Most Valuable Brands

Only 20% of New Zealand’s ten top brands deliver a mobile friendly experience on first visit. Now lets take the top ten Global brands and see how they compare?

Top 10 Global Brands

We see that 60% of the worlds top 10 brands cater for Mobile Internet users.

Why are New Zealand brands trailing behind in delivering a good web experience for mobile users?

Is Mobile Important?

Yes! Customers Are Mobile. They use internet-connected mobile/smartphone devices to find products and services located nearby. If they read your advertisement in a newspaper or magazine over their morning coffee, they aren’t about to run to the nearest desktop PC to type in your URL. They are far more likely to do it then and there on a smartphone.

Internet content is increasingly consumed on mobile devices (smartphones, tablets etc). Estimates vary  but between 7% and 15% of content is viewed using a mobile device and this is set to increase significantly over time.

In early 2011 Google hosted Think Mobile – a gathering of top marketing executives, industry visionaries and agency leaders for an  event on all things mobile. The catch cry for this event was It’s Not Too Late To Be Early. The key points from this event are summarised as follows:

Build a Mobile-specific Website	Be prepared to let go of your desktop content. Build something and get it out there. Don't spend forever doing it.
Build Local	one-third of mobile searches have "local intent"
Make it Personal	Harness the personal aspects of mobile.
Track Independently	Track activity on your mobile site separately from your desktop website.
Iterate	Tweak the site as you learn how people use it

When I watch my teenage children use mobile technology, I see your future customers. And they have a very low tolerance for bad web experiences. If it takes too long for your web content to load, or they need to hunt, pan and zoom around your desktop website to find basic information, then they will just move on.

Businesses without a mobile-friendly web presence will lose customers because of this.

What are we doing about it?

At GeekStuff we are passionate about mobile technology and committed to helping business get onto the mobile web.

We chose goMobi as the preferred solution for our clients. goMobi is a out-of-the-box mobile website solution for businesses of all sizes. It allows the client to choose from a number of pre-defined page types which are then styled with the clients color scheme and logo. This is achieved via a point-and-click browser-based site designer. goMobi is a fast, easy and affordable way to establish a mobile-web presence for your business right now.

To discuss mobile web options for Your Business  Give us a call or message us via our Contact form

 References

Methodology

In gathering the above statistics I thought about how the average mobile user finds information about a company or a product. They are likely to use the Search function built into their mobile device. Using a iPhone (IOS) I followed the these steps for each brand:

• Type the brand name from the table directly into the Google search field in Mobile Safari
• Chose the first link in the returned search results
• Determine if the landing page is mobile-friendly

While some of the brands do have mobile pages, usually as a m.domain.com or domain.com/mobile  or similar address, if the average mobile user relying on search is not directed automatically to these pages then their experience is not mobile-friendly.

Credits

Google – Think Mobile - Presentation Summary page
The Time for Mobile is Now by Jason Spero, Google (PDF file, 8.5 MB)
10 Mobile Trends by Mary Meeker and Matt Murphy, Kleiner Perkins (PDF file, 2.7 MB)

They then outlined a five-step program that businesses should follow for going mobile. Those five steps proved to be a strong validation of the philosophy behind the award-winning goMobi service. The five steps Google outlined during the webinar are:

• Build a mobile-specific site. (Three statements of importance: “Be prepared to let go of your desktop content.” “Build something and get it out there.” “Don’t spend forever doing it.” Those three statements are at the core of why we designed goMobi to work the way we did.)
• Build local. Your mobile site should have local in mind since one-third of mobile searches have “local intent.”
• Make it personal. Harness the personal aspects of mobile.
• Track independently. Make sure that you track activity on the mobile site separately from your desktop website.
• Iterate. Keep tweaking the site as you learn how people use it.

goMobi follows these same steps in helping small businesses create dynamic, valuable mobile websites. goMobi is a total solution, delivering a complete mobile website in mere minutes using existing Web content while delivering the best user experience possible, just as Google outlined it in their webinar. goMobi lets you:

• Build a mobile-specific site with information for on-the-go users and mobile-friendly features to help book more business.
• Build local with maps, business hours, coupons and reservations to encourage in-person visits.
• Make it personal by maintaining consistent branding for your business as well as stimulating word-of-mouth with links to social media.
• Track activity on the mobile site separately from your desktop website using Google Analytics.
• Iterate — and reiterate — your site content as often as you like while you test what will best drive additional business for you.

At GeekStuff Ltd we specialise in goMobi and Mobile Web solutions. Give us a call to find out what goMobi can do for your business.