Negatives of Redirecting to "Message Page" for Mobile to Desktop

jsballarx · 24th Nov 2014, 12:58 PM

Hey,

I have a situation here. We have a site that has an m. equivalent but 12 pages do not have a mobile equivalent. It has been decided that these pages will be redirected to the desktop version. That's all well and good.

The dev team decided that in the best interest of the user that the user should be redirected to an interim "message page" that says something along the lines of "You're being redirected to the desktop page."Now, when a user is on the desktop page and they navigate anywhere they will be redirected back to mobile but with no messaging.

So wouldn't it be better for the user and for SEO in general just to eliminate this "message page" and direct users to the equivalent desktop page without this irrelevant page.

Does anyone have any studies or articles that shows bounce rates on these pages or user perception?

I think the experience is poor and users should just be redirected to their equivalent page.

Thoughts?

ronrule · 24th Nov 2014, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by jsballarx

Hey,

I have a situation here. We have a site that has an m. equivalent but 12 pages do not have a mobile equivalent. It has been decided that these pages will be redirected to the desktop version. That's all well and good.

The dev team decided that in the best interest of the user that the user should be redirected to an interim "message page" that says something along the lines of "You're being redirected to the desktop page."Now, when a user is on the desktop page and they navigate anywhere they will be redirected back to mobile but with no messaging.

So wouldn't it be better for the user and for SEO in general just to eliminate this "message page" and direct users to the equivalent desktop page without this irrelevant page.

Does anyone have any studies or articles that shows bounce rates on these pages or user perception?

I think the experience is poor and users should just be redirected to their equivalent page.

Thoughts?

Is creating a responsive layout for the desktop site off the table? That's better than redirection 100% of the time, with or without a notification.

Although I'll tell you one thing... some recent events are making me re-evaluate the way I the desktop/mobile angle. Had a recent campaign that, due to an oversight on my part, ended up launching without the "mobile friendly" site (so mobile users were just seeing the desktop site) and the mobile conversion rates ended up higher than any other campaign we've ever done. I'm still trying to figure out why.

You can read about it here: The 44% Mobile Conversion Rate

jsballarx · 24th Nov 2014, 01:29 PM

M. dot has been agreed upon and is already complete minus these 12 pages. I need info on this message page, good for UX or poor for UX. I think it's poor.

ronrule · 24th Nov 2014, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by jsballarx

M. dot has been agreed upon and is already complete minus these 12 pages. I need info on this message page, good for UX or poor for UX. I think it's poor.

Definitely bad for UX, it would be seen the same way as any other popup. Anything that requires the user to take extra action to get to the content they were seeking will result in a decrease in viewers and conversions. Take them to the mobile site without explaining it. Just be sure to include a link back to the desktop site somewhere in the footer so they can go back if that's how they prefer to browse.

Also, I'd set up some redirection the other way too - if a desktop user lands on the mobile site, detect that and take them to the desktop site. The reason for this is because if people use the Share button in their mobile browser and share your page to Facebook, it will be sharing the mobile version if that's the page they're on - which is generally undesirable to desktop visitors who may see their shared link on Facebook. As long as your detection is working both ways, you'll be fine.

jsballarx · 24th Nov 2014, 02:13 PM

That makes sense.

Do you have any resource that I could point to as an example. i have to prove my point on this topic or it will not get pushed through.

ronrule · 24th Nov 2014, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by jsballarx

That makes sense.

Do you have any resource that I could point to as an example. i have to prove my point on this topic or it will not get pushed through.

Honestly, whoever thinks you should post some kind of popup message notifying the users they've been redirected to the mobile site should be the one who has to provide the justification. Getting a visitor to click through to your site is the hardest part - why complicate that by adding an extra step in order to get them to see the content they clicked through for? They know they're on a mobile device... they reasonably expect to see a mobile version of it. Click any article on Yahoo or Forbes and you'll be taken to m dot - they don't call attention to it.

jsballarx · 24th Nov 2014, 02:46 PM

Actually its a message that says they're being redirect to the desktop when there is no mobile page. Do you think that this still stands, no messaging about redirects to desktop page from mobile?

ronrule · 24th Nov 2014, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by jsballarx

Actually its a message that says they're being redirect to the desktop when there is no mobile page. Do you think that this still stands, no messaging about redirects to desktop page from mobile?

No need for a message, but why wouldn't a page that exists on desktop not also exist on mobile? Are you really building out two completely different sites? It seems like you're doing this the hard way...

jsballarx · 24th Nov 2014, 03:05 PM

The client went with the route of m. instead of responsive. Completely on them. I just have to clean it all up now.

24th Nov 2014, 12:58 PM	#1
jsballarx Warrior Member Join Date: 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Negatives of Redirecting to "Message Page" for Mobile to Desktop Share on: Hey, I have a situation here. We have a site that has an m. equivalent but 12 pages do not have a mobile equivalent. It has been decided that these pages will be redirected to the desktop version. That's all well and good. The dev team decided that in the best interest of the user that the user should be redirected to an interim "message page" that says something along the lines of "You're being redirected to the desktop page."Now, when a user is on the desktop page and they navigate anywhere they will be redirected back to mobile but with no messaging. So wouldn't it be better for the user and for SEO in general just to eliminate this "message page" and direct users to the equivalent desktop page without this irrelevant page. Does anyone have any studies or articles that shows bounce rates on these pages or user perception? I think the experience is poor and users should just be redirected to their equivalent page. Thoughts?

24th Nov 2014, 01:29 PM	#3
jsballarx Warrior Member Join Date: 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Negatives of Redirecting to "Message Page" for Mobile to Desktop Share on: M. dot has been agreed upon and is already complete minus these 12 pages. I need info on this message page, good for UX or poor for UX. I think it's poor.

24th Nov 2014, 02:13 PM	#5
jsballarx Warrior Member Join Date: 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Negatives of Redirecting to "Message Page" for Mobile to Desktop Share on: That makes sense. Do you have any resource that I could point to as an example. i have to prove my point on this topic or it will not get pushed through.

24th Nov 2014, 02:46 PM	#7
jsballarx Warrior Member Join Date: 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Negatives of Redirecting to "Message Page" for Mobile to Desktop Share on: Actually its a message that says they're being redirect to the desktop when there is no mobile page. Do you think that this still stands, no messaging about redirects to desktop page from mobile?

24th Nov 2014, 03:05 PM	#9
jsballarx Warrior Member Join Date: 2010 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Negatives of Redirecting to "Message Page" for Mobile to Desktop Share on: The client went with the route of m. instead of responsive. Completely on them. I just have to clean it all up now.