This is becoming a mobile world. Everywhere you turn, it seems people are using their phone or mobile device when they need information. It is imperative today to have a website that keeps up with this trend and fills the needs of customers who are looking for information on their mobile device rather than their computer screen.
Over 30% of website traffic now comes from mobile devices. While sales from mobile devices only make up 15% of total sales, mobile users are still very important for brand awareness and informational purposes. Since mobile users are generally on the go, they are often quickly coming to your site for key information – location, hours, directions, phone number – and having your mobile site provide that information quickly and in a streamlined manor can result in business down the road.
You have 3 choices when it comes to making your website work with mobile technology and all three serve different purposes and can help your business grow.
1. Mobile-Friendly – a mobile friendly website is your website as it renders on a computer screen. It correctly displays your website on the smaller screens of mobile devices. This is not specifically designed for mobile devices but users will still be able to navigate though not as easily as with other types.
2. Mobile Responsive – a mobile responsive website design is more widely used today than ever before. The basics are that the same design will work on a computer or mobile device and the design will respond to the varying conditions of the user’s device. For example, phone numbers and addresses can be clicked for calling or directions.
3. Custom Mobile – Overly complex sites that have a lot of information on them are best served by having a custom mobile version of their site. When a user comes to the site, it is detected whether they are on a computer or mobile device and the corresponding version of the site is displayed. This type of mobile version is optimal because the experience can be customized by removing some content or features or add others that mobile users will require which a computer user wouldn’t.
Regardless of which type of mobile experience you want to offer your users, having a website that is user-friendly and streamlined for the increasing number of mobile users is essential to your business’ growth.