Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Developing a Mobile-Friendly Website

The internet has truly reached its mobile-age. There are a huge number of people surfing the web through their smartphones, touch pads, mobile phones and other mobile devices. And that number is growing daily. It's incredible how so few businesses still haven't updated their websites with the times, and still don't offer their viewers a mobile-friendly site. Website optimization is increasingly important. The numbers show that around the globe businesses are falling behind in taking up effective mobile sites, despite the fact that the mobile internet is growing exponentially. It's even true for some of the largest Ecommerce sites, which still haven't improved their website's functionality for mobiles.


What's the use in updating and investing in a mobile-friendly website?
The data shows some very telling figures with regard to worldwide internet usage on Mobile Devices vs. Desktop/Laptop Computers. In fact, mobile device internet usage is set to go above desktop and laptop internet use this year. That's one of the most important things to keep in mind when you're thinking about the state of your website. It's immensely important to keep up with the trends. If you don't, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to overtake your competitors, and get a step ahead. Did you know that 50% of local searches are already being made from mobile devices?

Here are some other key statistics for your consideration:

·         There are 4 billion mobile phones in use around the world
·         1 billion+ are smartphones
·         50% of local searches are made from mobile devices
·         Half of the total 170 million Twitter users use the site's mobile version
·         A third of the 700 million Facebook users use the site's mobile verson

Once these figures have been taken in to account, it's difficult to see why so many sites still haven't increased the mobile-friendliness of their sites. When effective mobile sites have been utilized by businesses in the past, they've experienced massive growth in their mobile traffic. Big examples of such businesses include Facebook and Twitter.

How do you make a mobile site "friendly"?
Simply having a site accessible from a mobile device doesn't make it a "mobile-friendly" website. Everything about the pages has to be tailor made, paying particular attention in the design process to shaping the site for smaller screens. This involves altering navigation to incorporate larger buttons which are more suitable for touch-screen devices, improving website speed optimization as well as changing what and how information and content is displayed. That's because on a mobile device, you've got to provide the viewer with a high level of relevance. It's best to perform website speed analysis as well, to see how well your site is performing.

One great example of a site that has successfully implemented such a design is eBay mobile. They've carefully changed the format from their desktop/laptop site to cater for high relevance content, as well as simplicity and ease of navigation to provide a custom browsing experience for users. These features aren't really optional in this age of website optimization, because so much traffic is coming from mobile users. They've got to have a good experience for the first time they visit your site, otherwise they'll likely leave and never come back.
Website speed optimization is also essential, since nobody likes to sit around for half-an-hour while their chosen site loads up.

Lead the crowd, don't follow it
Since there's been a sizable amount of research into the overall percentage of websites that are mobile-friendly, it's easy to see where everyone is at this point. Although there's some difference in the definitions of "mobile-friendly" used in each study, the general conclusion is that merely 2-10% of sites have created a mobile version. The implications of this for your business are significant; it's an easy way to get ahead of your competitors right now.
Setting up a mobile website is also great for your image; it clearly identifies you as an innovator, rather than a follower. But most importantly, you'll maximize your traffic and sales.

Find out how you can get a mobile-friendly website from Website Optimization. Contact us today. 

Website Optimization
3134 SUNNYWOOD DR
ANN ARBOR, MI 48103
Phone: (877) 748-3678
Fax: (734) 661-1331
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/
https://plus.google.com/108123505155721216764/

No comments:

Post a Comment