Is it advisable to have a mobile version of a web application?

Question

With the advent of smart phones, individuals are now able to access a given site or application in one of three ways:

1. Through the same site that is rendered on desktop machines
2. Through a minimized mobile version of the site
3. Through a proprietary mobile application

In an ideal world, users could choose from any of those three methods. However, there is a cost associated with implementing additional interfaces on top of the existing Web interface.

I'm seeking verifiable information (statistics, trends, Gartner predictions, etc.) that could help someone justify the creation of a minimized mobile site and/or proprietary mobile applications vs. having a well-crafted site that renders fine in mobile browsers.

I found an article covering Nielsen's 2009 recommendation but the article seems to suggest that you should address mobile users, not so much how to determine which method(s) are more appropriate (not to mention there aren't any references to mobile apps).

Answer 1

If your site renders fine in mobile browsers, why would you need a minimized one? Remember not everyone has an iPhone. Blackberry users usually need a special version, unless your site has Wikipedia like simplicity.

You can look at your logs and see how many users come that have mobile phones. Check this against the bounce rate, this will tell you if they can view your site or not.