Mobile devices are everywhere. Last year saw an 81% growth in smartphone usage and globally, mobile devices now account for more than 13% of internet traffic. Yet, despite this, many sites do not cater for mobile devices. Now the reality of the matter is that everyone uses a mobile device, the question is, are your clients accessing your site from their mobile devices?
This will be determined by various factors, ranging from your product/service to your target market’s age group and gender to industry standards. The younger your target market is the more likely that they would be accessing your site from a mobile device. A more mature audience may be more likely to access your site from a tablet rather than from a phone. Your industry would also play a role, what are you competitors doing? If none of your competitors have mobile friendly sites, it could mean that your industry is not conducive to mobile sites or it could mean that you have an opportunity to be ahead of the curve. One thing is for sure, mobile devices are taking over and they aren’t going to disappear anytime soon.
Once you’ve established whether or not you need a mobile website, the next step should be to decide what function your mobile site should serve. Should it simply be your current website at a reduced resolution or should it have certain feature remove and other features emphasised? Your mobile site could even be a completely different site with different content. It all depends on the needs of your mobile users and that is the key to a successful mobile website. If your website can be accessed easily for a mobile device, your clients will more likely to spend some time there. This increases not only your mobile search ranking but also improves your mobile conversion rate.
With the increase in mobile devices and the increase in mobile web traffic worldwide, soon all websites will need to be mobile friendly. If your website doesn’t currently cater for mobile devices, there is no better time than now.
Tags: Mobile, Responsive Design
