How new devices, networks, and consumer habits will change the web experience

Table of Contents

  1. Summary
  2. Introduction
    1. The challenge
    2. Poor experiences equal lost sales
  3. Factors impacting web experience: Device
  4. Factors impacting web experience: Browser
  5. Factors impacting web experience: Network
    1. CDN placement
    2. IPv6
  6. Factors impacting web experience: Web design
    1. Page-size bloat
    2. Native apps vs. web apps
  7. Case studies
    1. Financial Times
    2. Wal-Mart
  8. Meeting the challenge
  9. About Amy Cravens

1. Summary

Delivering a positive web experience has become exceedingly more complex as the access environment has shifted from a desktop-centric vision to one that is increasingly focused on mobile devices — and with potential for other consumer devices in the near future. Website owners must now consider the customer experience across both desktop and mobile devices and their browsers, a reality that is alarming for many companies. As the access environment has evolved to include mobile devices in addition to desktop ones, it has created pain points in delivering a web experience from the network to the device to the browser and finally to the web design itself. Mobilizing web design is a catch-22; adjusting to design challenges is costly, but not adjusting is equally costly, because a poor mobile web experience results in a loss of revenue.

This report will examine what drives content consumption today and illustrate what the changing consumption of content has meant to the development and delivery of web and mobile content. It will also examine the evolution of the web experience and explore the challenges of content delivery to both mobile and desktop devices with a focus on four primary areas: device differences, browser distinctions, network variations, and application performance. Through case studies, the report will provide detailed analysis of individual company experiences and next-generation strategies for dealing with these challenges.

Key issues the report will address include:

  • How the multi-device environment has increased the complexity of delivering web content
  • How website owners, while struggling to assimilate multiple devices and browsers, are trying to maintain a consistent user experience
  • How browser fragmentation, a result of the current multitude of browsers, creates an opportunity for optimization
  • The necessary balance between delivering the best experience for a given device and managing overhead costs
  • Multiple mobile experiences that incorporate both the mobile web and native apps
  • The company’s desired relationship with its customers as an important consideration in determining its mobile strategy
  • How an innovative multi-device strategy will be disruptive to the status quo
  • How a quality mobile experience can advance customer relationships and how a poor experience can terminate relationships

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