Having a user friendly mobile site is extremely important for consumers. Research shows that 57% of customers will abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load and 30% of customers will abandon a purchase if the site isn’t optimized for a mobile device. Many consumers use their mobile devices for most of their tasks that could be done on a desktop, from checking social media, researching and buying products. Due to the increased mobile internet usage, it is crucial for companies to have mobile friendly websites. Specifically, below are 3 reasons why mobile web design is important in 2017 and how it can help your business.
- Mobile usage is on the rise. Roughly half of mobile phone users in the world use a smartphone at least once a month. As such, every month mobile usage continues to grow and many customers will view a website via their mobile devices. Furthermore, along with increased mobile device usage, consumers are also doing a lot more online shopping. Many people find mobile shopping much more convenient than having to drive to a store, and 80% of consumers regularly use their smartphones to shop online. Together, this means that an easy to use mobile website will bring more people to your site and keep them coming back.
- Better search engine ranking. Google is the most popular search engine in the world and this search engine actually prefers websites that are easily accessible through mobile devices (specifically responsive web designs). Responsive websites perform better in search rankings because they provide a better user experience. Google prefers these sites because they use a single URL instead of different URLs for separate versions of the same website. Additionally, mobile phones have a separate Google search algorithm, so just because a site ranks high in a Google search on a desktop doesn’t necessarily mean it will rank highly on a smartphone search. This can be critical to your site traffic if you consider that fact that mobile searches have overtaken desktop searches as of 2016.
- Better brand engagement. A company that has a more user friendly mobile website is much more likely to have customers return to their website, either on their mobile device or desktop computer later. The majority of consumers report that they move between devices to accomplish a task. Therefore, when a site is mobile friendly and optimized for functionality, then that leads to trust and brand loyalty. If a mobile site is difficult to use, then customers will likely go to other sites that are easier to use.
Overall, a user friendly mobile website is going to lead to happier customers who will continue to use your site. In the age of social media, these happy customers will likely share your site among their friends, leading to even more site traffic. If making a mobile-friendly site seems like a daunting task, a digital marketing company such as Digital Ethos, a web design agency in Leicester, can be a great option for the development of your site.
