If you’re an avid reader of our Neil Walker Digital blog, you’ll know we’ve covered numerous ways to make sure your content fulfills its full potential. Today we will be focusing on something that is often forgotten about, mobile websites. In situations where a website isn’t optimised properly for these types of devices it can result in a business missing out on a huge audience.
Take our website for example. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a smartphone, tablet or computer, it still functions correctly and efficiently. This ensures that anybody can have access to our content and articles no matter where they are. What takes us by surprise is the number of people that don’t even consider this to be an important part of their business.
This blog will cover why you need mobile friendly websites, how they attract a unique audience and the important facts to consider.
Numbers Speak For Themselves
The rise in smart phones and mobile websites has been astonishing. Back in 1997, there were around 1 million websites in existence. Fast forward ten years and the number of websites has increased to 150 million. As of 2007 there was around 1 million mobile websites. By looking at how much normal websites grew in ten years, it’s clear that mobile websites will continue to grow, and where there’s demand comes production.
All of that is without mentioning how accessible smart phones are. They used to be a luxury that cost a lot of money, whereas now you can pick up a standard device for £10. The reason for their popularity is the ability to have the power of a desktop in your pocket. For business people, smart phones have become a vital item to own, allowing them to access the office when on the move, all without having to carry a cumbersome laptop.
The Importance
Although mobile optimised websites used to be a luxury, this has rapidly changed over the years. To stay not only relevant but attractive to visitor, it’s important to have easy access to a website. Take the top three most visited websites, google, YouTube and Facebook.
All of these websites can be accessed on mobile devices through a browser or dedicated app. In a lot of cases, people prefer the mobile versions due to their accessibility and user interface. Whether you are on public transport or on a break at work, you can easily access and use these websites without a decrease in quality.
Mobile Users Often Have Different Priorities
In a lot of cases, a person that uses a mobile version of a website has a different priority compared to someone who uses the website on their desktop. Generally, a mobile user wants information quickly that’s easy to digest. Some cases show that these types of users impulse buy regularly, something that doesn’t occur as much when visiting a shop in the flesh or when browsing on a desktop.
It has already been proven through statistics that mobile users spend more money than other customers. This fact alone show the importance of optimising the mobile experience. It’s a win-win situation; you can have a swanky new website and your customers receive a better experience.
It’s a Better Way To Gain Traffic
One quarter of global web searches are carried out by over a billion users all over the world, making mobile websites just as important as their desktop variant. The reason for this high number of visits is due to accessibility. The 21st century is a chaotic one, with people travelling further and on different transport methods on a daily basis.
To counter boredom whilst on a commute, most people will turn to their mobile phone. It’s a perfect time to browse the internet without any interruptions. People have become so attached to their phones they can’t think of a world without them. Earlier this year, my mum’s phone was accidentally destroyed whilst at a food and drink festival and when people found out this had happened, they seemed more sympathetic than they would have been if someone had passed away.
How many times have you been waiting for something and without even thinking about it, you’ve pulled your mobile out and you’re browsing your favourite website? It’s this behaviour that makes mobile compatible websites so important in the long term.
Easy Brand Engagement
It has been shown that people are more attracted to brands when they offer a good mobile experience, and from this they are more likely to visit your website multiple times on their device and desktop. Being able to move between devices is important, as it can make certain tasks easier.
This also has a knock on effect. If a mobile website is poorly optimised users will most likely go to your competition instead. We can’t stress enough how you should spend the necessary time and effort into creating a functional website that caters to everyone. Once you do, the results will speak for themselves.
Desktop Website Browsers
A number of businesses choose to not bother with mobile websites, instead letting users put up with a desktop website on a smaller screen. It’s rare for a desktop designed website to function well on a device like this. People will be left constantly resizing the screen to view certain portions of text, images won’t load properly, embed videos won’t play correctly and the overall experience will be poor.
Would you visit a website that has all these characteristics? The likely answer is no, and it’s easy to see why; who wants to spend their spare time using something that is unwieldy and clunky? There’s also data handling to consider. A number of people that use mobile devices will rely on packet data, which either charges them for how much they use, or there’s a limit agreed in a contract.
Desktop websites use up more internet as there’s a lot more to load up. One of the main benefits of mobile versions is that it’s easy on data, making it accessible for more people. It should be an engaging and easy to use experience for your audience which your regular website may do on a desktop, but this won’t translate well to a mobile.
Mobile Website Checklist
If you don’t have a mobile website now is the time to do so. Technology is much more accessible, and there are experts that are able to create a smooth running site that matches your criteria. Here are the major features to look out for:
Does it load up in less than three seconds?
Speed is key. People don’t want to wait around for a website to load properly when they could be browsing somewhere else. If this is overlooked, it’s incredibly easy for customers to decide they won’t be coming back anytime soon.
Does it catch your attention?
Nobody wants to look at boring grey websites; they’re simply uninspiring to look at. A website should have vivid colours and interesting images that will draw people to it. It’s amazing how much of a difference these little changes can make.
Is any content easy to read?
Although your content may have been written to the highest quality, is a mobile user able to see it with minimal effort? The only activity a reader should have to do is scroll up or down, as soon as they have to do anything else the website is clunky.
Can the website be navigated easily?
If someone is looking for a specific article they are going to want to be able to access it easily. They shouldn’t have to go through page after page until they finally find what they’ve been looking for. This can easily be done through the use of a search box, and even intuitive drop down boxes.
Would you spend time on it?
This is possibly the most important point. If you’re looking at a mobile website and think it isn’t a good thing to use, it most probably isn’t. Spend the time and effort required to ensure your website covers all of these points. By doing this, you can make sure any customers are pleased with the service you provide. In most cases, you will attract a wider audience to your business.
Final Thoughts
If you didn’t think a mobile website was important before, you should do now. If a site doesn’t look good and is cumbersome to use, it reflects badly on your brand. Don’t let this happen. By following the points made in this blog you have the essential steps to progress and grow as a business, something that everybody should be pioneering for.
What do you think of this blog? Do you know of any other bugbears when it comes to mobile websites? Join the conversation on Twitter: @theukseo.