Having a mobile friendly website is now a must for businesses that want to establish an online presence. Customers are on their mobile devices more than ever, and with them are the transactions they make for services and products they like.
It’s not enough that you have a website for desktop users, you also need to have every page and element optimised for smartphones, tablets, and other portable screens. And yes, it’s as tedious as it sounds. Though, it’s all worth it in the end! Website design that is optimised for all platforms.
In Australia, mobile payments already overtook ATM cash withdrawals last year for the first time ever. So, optimising your website for user experience and mobile transactions can be a game-changing move for your business.
What is a Mobile-Friendly Website?
What do we mean when we say mobile-friendly? In essence, mobile-friendly sites allows customers to access web pages with ease using their mobile phones and tablets.
For example, a mobile-optimised site will automatically adjust its layout and elements to various screen sizes and operating systems. Often, it’s also called responsive web design.
Notably, a mobile site isn’t just for the benefit of users, it also helps with search engine rankings. In fact, Google has published guidelines for mobile-first indexing, which is another way for businesses to boost their online presence.
If you’re new to SEO or mobile optimisation, you can also hire a local SEO and web design expert like Web9 to develop and streamline a digital marketing strategy that is personalised to your business needs.
How Do I Know If My Website is Mobile-Friendly?
The most common way to check your website’s performance in a mobile device is through Google’s mobile-friendly testing tool, or other third-party services that offer the same concept, but with additional insights.
As far as supporting data goes, you can also do real-time tests on different devices or with real users to check the status and effectiveness of your mobile optimization strategy.
What are the Benefits of a Mobile Version of a Website?
Most People Use Their Mobile
A majority of internet users have been using mobile devices to access information for a long time. But in recent years, this has also become the trend for shopping, paying bills, and managing subscriptions and services.
Simply put, you stand to lose business opportunities with a non-mobile-friendly website. And to make matters worse, search engines will also prefer other competitors with an optimized mobile website for mobile-first indexing.
Most Website Traffic Comes from Mobile
Google encouraged businesses to optimize for mobile devices many years ago since trends in Google Analytics have long indicated that smartphone users are favouring companies that have mobile sites or apps.
The recent mobile internet traffic data also enforces these findings, since mobile devices are said to have accounted for over 55% of website traffic in 2023. Furthermore, an estimated 92.3% of internet users have tried accessing the web using their phones.
Mobile Users are Bigger Buyers
More than half of consumers aged 25 to 54 admitted that they are already using or are interested in using their mobile wallet to make purchases or accept digital offers.
Many companies have also recognised this and have incentivised many of their online customers with perks such as loyalty programs and discount coupons in digital form. As consumers find more value in mobile, it’s reasonable to expect these numbers to stay on par or trend upwards.
Mobile Landing Pages Require Different Strategies
Mobile-friendly websites and landing pages are designed with the unique needs of mobile visitors in mind. Therefore, they are streamlined, with clearer and simpler calls-to-action and content that are convenient to process on smaller screens.
These strategies can yield optimal results for your business, especially if your customers are most likely to use smartphones for shopping for your products.
Social Media Shares are Huge on Mobile
There were about 4.95 billion social media users in October 2023 according to backlinko. That’s more than half of the global population! It’s no wonder advertisers continue to invest in social media, which if you’re planning to emulate, means you’ll also need a mobile-friendly landing page to accommodate the mobile traffic.
Does My Website Need to be Mobile Friendly?
Google has previously acknowledged mobile friendliness as a ranking factor in search results, and the tech giant only pushed this further with the introduction of mobile-first indexing, which took six years to roll out. Essentially, if your web pages and content are not accessible at all with a mobile device, it will no longer be indexable.
Previously, when Google indexed a site, it would select the desktop version as the primary version to display in search results. Likewise, it uses that format to determine how the page will be ranked. Now, it indexes the mobile format as the main one instead.
With mobile-first indexing in full effect, it won’t matter that your desktop version is high-quality. Your flawed mobile version of the website will be indexed first, which will then affect your ranking potential.
What are Three Reasons Why Creating a Mobile Friendly Website May Be Preferred to Creating a Native App?
Mobile Websites are Instantly Available
Mobile websites are fast and accessible.
When we say accessible, it’s not only because it has lighter components, it’s also because most users today find it more convenient to shop on their mobile devices.
Even when compared to native mobile apps, a mobile-friendly website is often preferred because browsers themselves have invested more in optimizing for smaller screens.
Mobile Websites are Compatible Across Devices
Ideally, a mobile-friendly site works on all screen sizes, including tablets and laptops. This is easier to achieve as a business because you’re mostly building from the same core structure.
In a native app, you’re even inclined to build from scratch since different operating systems (Android, iOS, etc.) run on separate versions and infrastructure. Thus, you will potentially incur more development and maintenance costs.
Mobile Websites Are Less Expensive
Mobile websites are simply more cost-effective, as it’s likely a one-time investment with lower maintenance costs. Native apps, on the other hand, demands specialised development for different platforms, and compliance with a new set of guidelines each time.
Invest In a Mobile-Friendly Website
In many ways, a mobile-friendly site is more convenient for both businesses and their users. Therefore, it makes for a sound investment for businesses looking to engage with their audience effectively across multiple platforms and devices. Not to mention that Google itself has now actively prioritised mobile-friendly websites in its search engine.
If you’re looking to build or evaluate your SEO strategy, Web9 offers a free assessment of your business and SEO efforts. Whether it’s web design, content marketing, or SEO, the award-winning Web9 team is ready and equipped to help boost your online presence and optimize your business for the ever-evolving digital marketplace.
