Why do you need a mobile website? Nearly 40% of people searching the internet are using their mobile phones only. This means nearly half of people may never see your website as it looks in your browser. According to the latest Google stats, 80% of people browsing the web are using their mobile to browse at some point during the day. Only a tiny percentage of people have a desktop only web experience these days.
Naturally, with the smaller screen space of a mobile, things that look fine on your computer may be unusable on your mobile. Text may be too small to read, order forms may not work properly or be able to be completed, and images and layouts designed for the computer may look mangled or at the least unprofessional when viewed on the smaller screen. A bad user experience is a lost potential customer.
Even if you don’t care about the users who come to you on their phone, you may care when people on their desktops stop being able to find you! On April 21, 2015, Google made changes to its search algorithms which promoted mobile friendly sites to mobile users over those with less mobile friendly content.
If that isn’t enough motivation; on October 14, 2016, Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst Gary Illyes announced on that in the next few months they will be splitting their search index into two. One for desktop, another for mobile, and the mobile index will be the most up to date with desktop results lagging behind.
If you’re not sure if your site works well for mobile, it’s quick to check. Google has provided a helpful tool to test your site the way they see it and let you know if it’s good or needs some work. If this says you’re good to go, congratulations you’re ahead of the game! If it has any issues, it might be worth getting your site’s developer to update and keep you relevant so your competitors don’t steal your business.
The world’s going mobile, if you plan on staying in business, you need to go mobile, too.
