At ICA we are constantly digging into the data we receive from surveys, web metrics, and social media to see how we can better our operations and services to the membership. Recently we’ve been noticing an upswing in visits to our site from mobile devices.
The total number of visits is still a very small portion of our total traffic, but we can’t ignore that more people are searching for quick information or reading the newsletter from a mobile device. Out of all the devices that access our content, iPads and iPhones are the leaders; they make up 83% of our mobile traffic. Even more, iPads make up 50% of this total traffic.
So we are making our first foray into a mobile or platform optimized option for users of the newsletter. Using the Wordpress platform, we have duplicated the newsletter to an iPad version that is swipeable (is that a word?) and have procured the URL: www.icanewsletter.com.
The new site allows iPad users to read in a device friendly version over the normal PDF version. With easy to navigate swiping and using the menu button to select the month of newsletter you’d like to read. The platform also allows for comments and easy sharing on your social media of choice. And you don’t have to be on an iPad to enjoy the social portion, the site works fine on a computer or other tablet device. The PDF newsletter will continue to live on in its normal platform for the foreseeable future.
This is a small first step in optimizing our website to fit the needs of a changing and mobile membership. Look for our site to be web optimized in the near future. And if you are reading this article on an iPad on the new platform, well this just got meta. As always, let us know if you have any suggestions or feedback!
