Why Mobile Development Matters More Than Ever
Society changes, habits change, the way that we do business changes and of course within the area of technology, changes happen at warp speed. For over 2 years now there have been consistent warnings about the increased use of mobile devices to surf the internet . If you’ve been keeping an eye on your Google Analytics account, you likely noticed that year over year traffic coming to your website from smartphones or tablets has increased dramatically.
The warnings from Google and other notable SEO’s to get your website ready for the day search engines will use mobile friendly design as a search engine ranking factor finally came true on April 21st, 2015. This was the day that Google announced that would see mobile-friendly design become a ranking factor.
After April 21st, 2015 visitors searching from a Smartphone will be far less likely to find your website.
What Now?
If you’re having a new website developed, make sure that it’s mobile-friendly. This can be achieved in 2 ways:
#1. Build a website that is “responsive.” The term responsive basically means that no matter what size of screen the website is displayed on, it will shrink and morph into a fully usable website.
#2. Build a mobile-friendly version. In a sense, this is like building a second version of your website. When a visitor from a mobile device goes to your website, the server is notified and displays the mobile-friendly version instead of the full desktop site.
Our preference is to build a responsive website that allows for a consistent browsing experience.
If you already have a website, you also have 2 options:
#1. Convert your current website into a responsive design. Depending on the structure of your website, this could be fairly time consuming.
#2. Build a mobile friendly version of your site and leave your “old” site alone. If budget is the main objective here, this could be your least expensive option.
If Mobilegeddon has come and gone and your website is old enough that mobile design was an afterthought at the time, it’s likely time for a new website anyway. By 2012, most website designers and developers were already building websites to be mobile-friendly. If the life cycle of website is 2-4 years, it might be time to think about redesigning anyway.
A website is an investment, not an expense – Like a silent salesman
Long before you meet your prospective clients or customers in person, more than likely they have visited your website and made some assumptions based on what they see. Your website is like a storefront that’s open 24/7. When your prospects are looking at your website on their mobile phones while waiting for a doctor’s appointment or waiting to pick their children up at school, they are making decisions about whether they want to reach out and ask you a question, ask for a quote or dial your number. It’s during these times that clients are making decisions based on their experience surfing your website.
Is it easy to navigate from a mobile device?
Does it load fast on their iPhone?
Can they find the information they need?
If you weren’t able to answer yes to all 3 of these questions, it’s time to think seriously about a responsive website re-development.
