How popular is the mobile Web? Well, Facebook grew from 20 million to 65 million mobile users in eight months. And people are doing more than just updating their status and checking on their friends. They are checking their bank balances and then spending what’s left in their bank accounts, all from mobile devices.

Over the last decade, companies have worked hard to create Web applications that quickly, effectively, and efficiently serve the needs of the high bandwidth, desktop/laptop, wired /WiFi world. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the traditional Web has become addicted to fat, fast pipes (or tubes, for some folks in Alaska).

Now these same companies have to turn their world around and spin off smaller (in screen size) and lighter (in byte count) versions of their Web applications without sacrificing functionality or compromising performance.

When it comes to the mobile Web, companies clearly see the gold in them thar hills. But in the rush to the hills, are companies leaving behind the Web performance lessons learned over the last decade? A new survey conducted by Equation Research for Gomez found that 60% of respondents have experienced a mobile Web performance issue in the last year. Most folks reported cases where mobile sites were perceived as being too slow. Others found that mobile Web sites didn’t render well on the devices they used, or didn’t function as expected.

It’s as though as they race to chase the gold in the mobile Web world, companies are leaving the mule with all their Web performance tools behind at the saloon.

Does performance matter in the mobile Web world? The same study found that 58% of respondents expect mobile Web application performance to be equal to or faster than traditional Web performance. And when the performance doesn’t meet their expectations, they won’t visit the site again, and may use a competitive mobile site the next time.

Is it realistic for mobile Web users to demand equal Web performance on connections that at any minute could experience performance issues or disappear altogether?

No, it’s not realistic. Does that matter? No, not really. People don’t see problems with the network when a site is slow; they see issues with the site. The mobile Web is being held to a higher standard than the traditional Web was at the same point in its evolution as people have come to expect consistent and fast online experience wherever they are. This expectation of performance will only increase as the mobile Web becomes even more embedded in our daily lives.

Creating a mobile Web application or site is only the first step in entering this new territory. Remembering to bring the mule with all your critical Web performance tools and methodologies with you should make the trip more profitable.