Marine Institute launches mobile version of website

The Marine Institute has launched a new mobile version of its website, making it even easier for students, faculty and industry partners to stay up to date with the latest news and events coming out of MI

Thursday, January 6, 2011

The location maps include pictures and addresses of MI facilities such as the main campus on Ridge Rd. in St. John’s, the Southside Marine Base in downtown St. John’s and the Offshore Safety and Survival Centre in Foxtrap. The mobile site was developed by Greg Pike, web editor at the Marine Institute. The creation of the mobile website comes in response to the needs of visitors to the Marine Institute’s main webpage, www.mi.mun.ca.

“When we reviewed the stats for visitors to the main website, we learned we were getting thousands of hits from people using their mobile devices,” said Glenn Blackwood, executive director, MI. “We wanted to make the website more accessible to those people and this was a good opportunity to do so.”

Pike added that since MI now has a website specifically for mobile users, the number of people using tools such as their phone to learn more about the Institute is likely to increase. “We expect this trend to become even more popular moving forward,” said Pike. “We could see a lot more visits to the website from mobile devices in the next year, possibly twice as much as in 2010.”

One feature aimed at visitors to the mobile website is the removal of photographs and many of the graphics available on the main MI site. “This makes the mobile version load much faster because it’s mostly just text,” Pike said. The links to events, contacts, news, registration information, contacts and location maps are significantly bigger than on the main MI website, making it easier for mobile users to read and open the various sections of the new site.

“The mobile version also includes a link to the main Marine Institute webpage if anyone wants to see the full website,” said Pike. Additional sections will be added to the mobile site in the near future, including a link for programs and courses available at the Institute.

“The Marine Institute is constantly looking for ways to better communicate with our current and future students, faculty, staff and industry, education and government partners,” Blackwood said. “By availing of the latest technology and monitoring the trends and needs of visitors to our websites, we are continuing to inform individuals and organizations about the great work being conducted at MI.”