Mobile website designs are quickly rising in popularity as a result of the smart phone development. When it comes to keeping up with this digital era it is a case of embrace it or get left behind.
The good news is if you have a website already, you can at least be found on a mobile. The bad news is that it probably isn’t too user friendly. It might be hard to select navigation buttons, require lots of scrolling to view the page (horizontal and vertical) and load slowly if it is graphic intensive. A mobile website design takes the essence of your website and creates it for a mobile user experience.
Based on current trends mobile browsing will surpass desktop browsing in a few short years.
To help decide if you need a mobile friendly website here are the top 5 reasons why you should get onto it:
1. The stats don’t lie
Check out your website statistics – if you view the browser connection information it will break down the traffic into connection platforms which list items like iphone, Android, and IOS, PDA and Samsung Galaxy (yes they have their own special connection flag that itemises it). You can see exactly how many visitors are trying to connect to you via mobile.
2. Ask your target market / demographic
Is your core demographic sitting on a mobile device 24/7? Certain key audiences just about live on their mobile devices whilst others are still firmly attached to a computer, laptop or tablet instead.
3. Get a competitive edge
Not everyone is onto mobile websites… yet. It can be a huge advantage over your competitors to offer something extra to your customers (and potential customers). If your competitor is already onto it, you are in danger of getting left behind. Your focus should be doing it better and letting everyone know about it!
4. It’s all about reputation
Does your company thrive on being innovative, user-friendly, offering the latest and greatest in all aspects? This does reflect in your web presence. If you are saying these things in your ‘about’ page bio but don’t have a mobile website it is often a case of actions not matching words. On the flip side, if you say these things and you are up to date on website development, social media and mobile platform it reflects back on your business, company or organisation.
5. Cost effective
The cost to produce a mobile friendly website is between 1/3 and 1/2 as much as you paid for your full website (in general). Think of it as an investment which enables you to talk to a new (and potentially large) audience.
If you are contemplating updating an old website you should do that prior to creating a mobile version. The two aren’t linked and when you make updates to one platform you will need to mirror that in the mobile version. By updating the core website first it will avoid making more work for yourself.
If you need further advice or assistance when it comes to website development or mobile website development please contact us, we are more than happy to help.
Author: Michelle Gustavson, Shell Graphix – Brisbane Australia
