The iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tablet and Kindle Fire entered the
market a few years ago and triggered off a craze in all parts of the
world. Urban consumers gave up their older phones for these ‘smart’
phones. Each new version incorporates the latest technology and brings
new features. Studies have forecasted that 70% of Internet users will
spend more time on their mobile phones than their desktops and laptops.
By 2014, they will access the Internet using some sort of mobile device
because this allows them to stay connected wherever they may be.
Internet browsing is a totally different experience on a mobile
device. If the same website designed for a desktop or laptop is used for
mobiles, it doesn’t mean that the user experience will be the same.
Here are the top 4 reasons that make a Mobile Website necessary for
companies and businesses:
Reason #1 – Screen Size
Smart phones have a much smaller screen size than computers, to allow
for portability. The typical resolution of 1280×1024 on a computer is
brought down to 480×320 on a mobile device. This often means difficulty
in navigating websites that are not compatible with mobile devices.
Since traditional desktop websites have a width of 960 pixels,
the text in its original format is not legible; zooming in and out, if
at all permissible for a particular website, as well as scrolling up and
down and back and forth sideways can be frustrating. Simply scaling
down the web page content does not always work, because the user’s
fingers remain the same size. How often have you pressed the wrong link
and had to struggle to navigate back to the original page? A good mobile
website will be thumb-friendly, which means the buttons and links will
be big enough for the human fingers to navigate properly. A website
specifically designed for mobile devices will offer a better customer
experience, thereby resulting in increased conversion of sales leads and
more revenue.
Reason #2 – Speed
Mobile devices cannot keep up with the processing and Internet data
transfer speeds and response times of most computers. Companies tend to
overlook this significant fact when they decide to maintain a single
website common to both groups of users. A separate website design is
required to cater to these lower technical specifications of Smart
phones, with pictures and video content optimized for these devices. Any
webpage that takes more than 10 to 15 seconds to load will lose 95% of
its viewers to a faster competitor website. High browsing speeds make
customers happy, which will increase the chance of them returning to
your website.
Reason #3 – Money
Back in 2009, a staggering total of $1.6 billion dollars was spent on
purchasing products over the Internet through mobile devices. Now that
more than 93% of adults in the United States own at least one cell phone
enabled with Internet access, the online spends from mobile devices
have likely shot up much higher. Just imagine the sales that a company
can generate by tapping into this large market segment. The main
objective of a business is to make money; this is done by having a
broader customer base. A mobile-enabled website is required to engage,
convert and retain a large number of potential customers in by providing
them the information that they need with an ease of
navigation. Hence, getting a mobile website is the way to success for
any company. The cost of designing a separate website is negligible
compared to the profits it can rake in. Yes, every new website needs to
be hosted individually, so a separate hosting fee will apply for the
traditional website targeted at computer users and the new-age website
targeted at users of mobile devices. But this still is a very small
overhead cost. What’s more, no special knowledge is required to do so;
web design companies can be hired to get the new website up and running
in the click of a finger.
Reason #4 – Location
For websites that offer some product or service, mobile users who
access its pages are ready to make the purchase or booking immediately
in most cases. They may be checking to confirm the exact address. In all
probability, they are somewhere close to the physical store or even
inside it already! Local searches are gaining popularity, and customers
are coming to expect this from companies.
Smart phones and tablets are equipped with built-in GPS systems that
allow the mobile device to track the user’s exact location. This is used
by search engines to pick up companies that match the search criteria
and are also within the vicinity of the user at the time of the search.
This information is picked up from the company profile registered on a
site like Google Places.
To exploit this functionality, contact details and other
location-specific information is of utmost importance for a company’s
mobile website. The physical address and telephone number need to be
displayed on each and every page, in a prominent location. While heavy
images are not encouraged on mobile websites to support faster speeds,
maps are highly recommended because they can bring customers directly to
your premises.
Providing a feature to check the available stock at a particular
branch of a company is a way of telling the customer that this company
means business and is concerned about the customer’s convenience as
well. The potential customer also needs to know your working hours. He
or she doesn’t want to come all the way to your store to and it closed.
Timing information is also very much needed on a mobile website.
Despite all these wonderful reasons why a mobile website is the need
of the hour, a very small number of businesses and companies have
actually invested time and money into designing one. It is ironic that
industry sectors that could benefit the most from this shift of sales
approach have the smallest percentage of mobile-enabled websites. Sadly,
they are still relying on their websites made for computers, with the
assumption that it suffices if they can be accessed on a mobile device.
As we have just seen, nothing could be further from the truth. These are
only a few of the reasons to have a mobile website. With the way
technology is moving you can’t afford not to have a website that is
specifically designed for mobile devices.
So what do mobile users look for in a website that is different from desktop users?
The percentage of web searches made from mobile devices is increasing
exponentially. Mobile users access the Internet on the go. They type in
search queries and expect real-time results based on their current
location. They use words like “nearest” in their search string instead
of typing in their actual geographical location. The device is expected
to pick up that information. These users expect a comfortable site
navigation with a user-friendly interface. If one website does not offer
the expected speed and convenience of visibility, there are other sites
to move onto, which can cause a potential loss of customers and cost
business. This can impact the way all businesses function, so you need
to keep up with the changing trends and get a mobile website. Quality of
service has no meaning if the exposure is not right.
The charm of fancy websites with a lot of Flash animation and
creative designs are lost on the small screens of hand-held gadgets;
efficiency is given priority over bells and whistles. Some Smart phones
may not even support Flash, while those that do will be slowed
considerably. Time is valuable to people on the go, and they’re already
onto the next website that is compatible with their device and that
quickly gives them the information they are looking for.
Customer reviews are also important to mobile users. They like to
know what other people think of a product or service and their
experience with a particular company. Having a mobile website integrated
with social networking media serves as a great marketing tool and
increases exposure to target customers.
The current generation of customers has developed a culture of living
for now. Everything is preferred fast, and any business that cannot
keep pace is left behind. It is imperative you change your business
strategy and become mobile-ready before your competitors, or at least
catch up with them.
If you are hesitant to adapt to the latest technologies, your
business might just have to shut down. Instead, get a mobile website
today, which will be highly beneficial to increasing your sales revenue.
And, it doesn’t have to end there – with so many possibilities, you
need to think out of the box. For example, once you get a mobile-enabled
website, how will your users know about it? Advertise in all media, but
also put a site redirect in place, which will bring visitors from the
desktop version of your site to the new mobile-friendly version. Of
course, they need the option of going back if they wish.
So what are you waiting for? Get onto the mobile bandwagon today.
Nicholas has been in the web design industry for over 7 years. He currently runs his own web company call Darley Web Design.
