Global IT has been recommending and developing responsive, mobile-friendly, websites for several years.
Having a website that is compatible across all platforms (desktop, tablet, and smartphone) is no longer a choice, but a necessity. Following are 10 reasons why you should be planning to move toward a mobile-friendly website if you haven’t done so already.
***The last reason listed at #10 will have the most impact on the future of online presence for EVERY industry…and this change is coming SOON.***
The mobile experience is now directly impacting your fundamental online marketing success and affecting metrics such as visibility and traffic.
Providing a favorable mobile experience is absolutely required to continually engage prospects and drive leads and sales.
B2B decision-makers are using mobile devices across all phases of the buying cycle and throughout the day (including at work).
Take a look at your website analytics data. Even if mobile traffic isn’t a huge device segment today, it is growing and will continue to do so.
Get ahead of this curve. Start embracing our multi-screen world. Turn mobile marketing into your competitive advantage… today.” SearchEngineLand
Expectations go beyond just having a mobile presence; customers expect you to provide them with a great mobile experience. Customers love the ease and speed of well-designed mobile platforms while faulty links, slow-loading pages, and site errors will only serve to frustrate users. Also, as a result of user experience errors, Google now demotes mobile web page rankings in its search results, making it harder for mobile customers to find your site.
There’s a direct correlation between the quality of service you deliver and customer loyalty but a company will only get these benefits if they deliver a quality mobile experience.” UserZoom
-More consumers contact a business if it has a website (36% vs 32%)
-More consumers say they are put off by an ugly website (9% vs 5%)
-Fewer consumers will use a business that doesn’t have a website (21% vs 27%)
And…having a smart website gives local business credibility in eyes of consumers.” BrightLocal
1. Within 2 years, there will be 3B+ smartphones in use. The average user spends 4-5 hours per day on mobile. (Source)
2. 59% of smartphone users expect companies to make their websites mobile-friendly. (Source)
3. Mobile will account for 50% of all digital ad spend in 2016 (worth $100B). (Source)
4. Mobile accounts for 35% of all retail eCommerce transactions. (Source)
5. 37% of purchases are made after the users viewed the retailer’s site on multiple devices. (Source)
6. Of that 37%, 69% were finished on desktop. (Source)
Session duration measures the average amount of time each user remained on your website. Again, a much lower session duration on mobile devices would indicate that your users are getting frustrated quickly and leaving. Not seeing much in terms of mobile and tablet traffic in your report? The most likely reason is most likely because your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re not getting the search or social referral traffic you would be getting if it was.
[68% of US adults] own a smartphone, and that number has only continued to grow…would you really want to miss out on [68%] of your potential customer base?!” SearlesGraphics
Whilst you might need to spend some money to get a top quality web designer to set up a responsive website for you, most website owners will tell you that it is money well spent. As well as preventing unhappy customers from shopping elsewhere it will mean less maintenance will be required in the future. Business.com
Now that you know the importance of having a mobile-friendly website, it’s time to check the mobile-friendliness of your website. You can do so by visiting https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/.
If you test your website and it does not pass Google’s specifications for mobile-friendliness, you have two choices.
- Edit your existing website to fit Google’s specifications.
- Redevelop a new website.
If your website is more than two years old, chances are your best option would be to redevelop a new website. If you are interested in having Global IT provide a quote to make sure your website is mobile-friendly, you can call us at 562-698-2500 opt. 2, or submit your request to design@globalit.com.
Wow! Surely this will have companies without a mobile page rushing to ensure they will be listed in this new up-to-date Index! Insightful information and Great read. Thanks Jayme!