Why Study Mobile Website Design

Web Design Academy offers a Practical Responsive Web Design Course. In this post we will discuss why it is important to design websites that looks and functions well on all devices. Our in depth course will teach you everything you need to know on how to design for mobile, tablet and desktop.

As smartphone and tablet adoption rapidly increases, so does the importance of mobile-friendly websites. In this post today we are going to explain why you should study Web Design for Mobile Devices. Why having a responsive website is so critical to your marketing and some key considerations to keep in mind when designing a responsive website. And the difference between Mobile and Responsive Design.

This post is part of the Why Study Series:

• Why Study Web Design
• Why Study WordPress
• Why Study HTML5
• Why Study CSS3
• Why Study Mobile Website Design
• Why Study jQuery
• Why Study PHP

The Mobile Market is MASSIVE !!

The mobile market has been growing by an estimated 30% every year in the past 3 years, this trend is only growing. With billion of new mobile users browsing the web it is now becoming essential to market effectively for mobile phones.

The primary motive of a business website is to generate revenue. Only a mobile-friendly website can guarantee this. Consider these facts:

• According to the data compiled by the Mobile Marketing Association of Asia, of the nearly 7 billion people worldwide, over 5 billion people own a cell phone, whereas just about 4 billion own a toothbrush.
• According to Morgan Stanley, of the over 5 billion mobile phone owners, 91% keep their mobile devices in close proximity, 24x7x365.
• An average person reports a stolen/missing wallet after 24 hours. Nevertheless, the average lost mobile phone is reported in less than 70 minutes.
• Currently, mobile phones are employed for carrying out 3 out of 5 searches.
• Almost 75% of Smartphone owners depended on their devices for getting directions and location-related information.
• According to Mobile Marketer, an overwhelming 70% of searches carried out on mobiles lead to action in under an hour.
• A stunning 61% of local searches on mobile phones lead to an instant phone call.
• Mobile phone coupons are redeemed 10 times more often than conventional coupons.
• By the end of 2014, over 50% of all internet traffic will be via mobile phones.
• People worldwide favour mobile browsers for banking transactions, local information, travel bookings, shopping, most recent sports news and blogs. They also prefer mobile apps for music, social media, maps, and games.

Hence, it’s prudent that you ask yourself: What does my potential/existing customer see on a Smartphone or tablet in my business website versus my competitor’s fully-responsive or mobile website? Discussed here are some key reasons your business website should be mobile-friendly.

10 Reasons Your Business Website Should be Mobile-Friendly

Reason 1: There’s an Explosive Growth in Mobile Internet Users

You must understand that the mobile audience is exceedingly big already. More importantly, this audience is growing rapidly. The study by three leading authorities Berg Insight, Morgan Stanley Research and Boston Consulting Group has concluded that Internet usage worldwide will unquestionably double from current usage levels, by the end of 2015. The study has also concluded that the majority of users will be using mobile devices as their primary gateway to the Internet.

There’s a Steady Growth in Smartphone Usage

Currently, not all the over 5 billion mobile phone users own a Smartphone. Nevertheless, as low-priced 3G-capable Smartphone devices swamp the market, the Smartphone user base in Australia is growing explosively. Goldman Sachs has forecast that over 80% Americans will own Smartphone devices by 2015. Australians will follow closely, as well.

Reason 2: Recommended by Google

When Google makes recommendations, marketers pay attention because Google controls a large pie (67%) of the search market share. Google’s stance on recommended mobile configuration has always been Responsive Web Design.

Of late, Google has advocated the Responsive Web Design as being the industry best practice.

Responsive Web Design: Single URL, Single HTML

Since responsive design business websites have a single URL and exactly the same HTML, irrespective of device, it’s more efficient and simpler for Google search spiders to crawl, regulate, index, and organise content. In contrast, a separate mobile site has a different URL and separate HTML that’s different from its desktop counterpart. This means that Google spiders have to crawl and index numerous versions of the same website.

Responsive Website Design Delivers Better User-Experience

Another vital reason Google favours responsive business website design is because your content resides on one website and a single URL. Your visitors find it easier to share, engage, and link your content when it resides on a distinct mobile website when compared to content that resides on a conventional desktop website.

For instance, a mobile user shares helpful content from a mobile website with a Facebook friend. Later, when this friend accesses the shared content using a desktop, the user views a stripped down mobile website on the desktop. This definitely results in a below par user-experience. Considering that Google places a huge emphasis on user-experience in its SERP results, this attribute needs to be taken into account for a favourable SEO.

Google Wants Mobile Websites

Google has clearly indicated its desire for mobile websites. Websites fashioned for desktops do not deliver a good user experience when accessed on a Smartphone. Google intends to prevent user frustration by providing web surfers a superior Internet experience. Due to this, more and more business enterprises will begin moving in the direction of Responsive Website Design. Surely, you wouldn’t want your business enterprise to fall behind here. Remember, what works optimally for Google works optimally for your business enterprise, as well.

Reason 3: Single Website, Multiple Devices

Responsive Website Design delivers an excellent user-experience across numerous devices and screen sizes. Since it’s exceedingly difficult to foresee all the diverse devices and screen sizes that visitors to your business website use, creating a responsive website design is critical. A website that functions optimally irrespective of these variables provides a more consistent and superior user-experience when compared to a separate mobile website that’s created for a particular device and screen size.

Advantage of a Website That’s Fashioned for Numerous Devices & Screen Sizes

For instance, just consider an individual searching for a product/service on their Smartphone during a break at workplace. The person finds the product or service and decides to research further after going home. The person will undoubtedly use a desktop after arriving at home ─ certainly not their Smartphone.

In this instance, if the business website in question is responsive, it will deliver a positive user experience to the individual. The transition from mobile to desktop will be smooth because the user will view the same business website on the desktop after arriving at home, as well as, the Smartphone during the break at the workplace, previously. On the contrary, if this business website is a dedicated mobile site, the person would have been frustrated by having to locate the desktop version after arriving home and find the product/service all over again.

Reason 4: Easier to Manage

When you have different desktop and mobile websites for your business, you’ll need separate SEO campaigns, too. Here, you must understand that it’s much simpler managing one business website and one SEO campaign when compared to managing two websites and two SEO campaigns. A responsive website scores over a separate mobile website in this key aspect.

Mobile-Specific SEO Strategy

There are several advantages of a mobile-specific SEO campaign. You can optimise for the prime keywords of your business that potential visitors to your website may use on their mobile devices.

For instance, an individual looking for a local restaurant on a Smartphone is bound to use the word “nearby” or “vicinity” in the search query. Nevertheless, a separate mobile website isn’t a prerequisite for a mobile SEO campaign. You can incorporate mobile-specific keywords effectively into a responsive design website, too.

Reason 5: Small Businesses Need Mobile-Friendly Websites

The escalation in Smartphone and tablet use in Australia has led to a rapid decline in desktop internet browsing. Currently, an astounding 50% of mobile owners use their mobile devices as their key tool for surfing the internet! Mobile devices certainly present a great deal of flexibility and handiness ─ especially when it comes to on-the-go search for swift access to information.

Mobile-Friendly Business Websites Attract More Customers

It’s a confirmed fact that over 90% of mobile users search for a local business enterprise on their device. Nevertheless, what’s even more notable is that these mobile searchers invariably contact the business they query within 24 hours! Hence, if your business website is mobile-friendly, you will attract more customers (and revenue) to your business.

Small Businesses Have Nothing to Lose

At present, over 70% of small business websites in Australia aren’t mobile-friendly. Their customers find it challenging to research and make purchases using mobile devices. Additionally, almost 90% of the small business websites do not facilitate easy viewing on the iPad. Nevertheless, small businesses can gain a competitive edge by taking the mobile challenge head-on.

Reason 6: eCommerce is now effectively mCommerce

The dramatic growth of mCommerce in the last 5 years (over 5000% according to Capgemini & IMRG report) has prompted small businesses to revamp their business websites. You must not delay remodelling your business website to capitalise on this exponential rise in mCommerce.

Convert Visitors Arriving via Mobile Devices into Loyal Customers

An increasing number of people are opting for online purchases to save money, energy and time that making the trip to a retail store takes. Mobile shopping has undoubtedly become more mainstream. You can keep up with this most recent trend by optimising your offline business establishment to cater to mobile users. Just ensure that the user-experience and purchasing process on your business website is glitch-free. Convert mobile visitors into loyal customers.

Avoid the Pitfalls of a Mobile Unfriendly Website

Regardless of the purpose of your business website ─ whether it’s for providing information or for eCommerce ─ a mobile unfriendly website has a detrimental effect on mobile customers. If your business website is mobile unfriendly, over 60% of mobile users will be discouraged greatly and may desist from engaging with your business enterprise in the future. With the popularity of mCommerce expected to rise, deferring the updating of your business website can be perilous.

Reason 7: You’ll Lose Business to Your Competitors

Regardless of the industry your business belongs to, you must always strive to be innovative rather than getting stuck in imitating your competitors. Almost two thirds of medium size enterprises have already remodelled their business websites to boost their online sales. Nevertheless, in the small-size segment, only 20% have opted for mobile-friendly websites.

Mobile Website Influences Your Online Sales

If your business website loads swiftly and promotes easy navigation, your customers will be enthused to buy from you. On the contrary, if your website loads slowly and requires frequent zooming in on the products to read, your customers are less likely to buy from you. Many small business enterprises have already recognised the importance of mobile web over their online sales. If your business enterprise doesn’t have a mobile-friendly website yet, there’s no reason you should delay opting for one.

Findings of Google’s Study

If your business lacks a mobile-friendly website, you indirectly help your competitors. A study conducted by Google reveals that:

• Around 50% of Internet users confided that even if they favour a business enterprise, they’d use the enterprise less often if their website weren’t mobile-friendly.
• Over 60% of users will move to your competitor’s website if they don’t find what they’re looking for on your mobile website quickly enough.
• Almost 80% of users who aren’t impressed by the content on a mobile website will move to another website.

Reason 8: Lack of Engagement Results in Lost Revenue

The absence of meaningful engagement with mobile users proves to be tremendously expensive to businesses. Small and medium sized business enterprises in Australia that lack mobile-friendly websites lose billions of dollars in revenue. Less than 20% of SMEs in Australia have mobile-friendly websites. Considering that more than two-thirds of Australians own a Smartphone, the percentage of mobile-friendly websites is abysmally low.

A Mobile Business Website is Indispensable for Your Social Media Campaigns

A mobile business website works optimally with your search, as well as, your social media campaigns. Since many of your potential customers use a Smartphone or tablet to locate your enterprise, Google spiders show a higher affinity for mobile-ready websites. Besides, numerous apps can direct visitors from your mobile site to your enterprise’s social profiles.

Mobile-Ready Website Promotes Targeted Search

A mobile website permits your business enterprise to deliver original content to your customers. This content helps rank your business websites ─ conventional and mobile ─ much better on Google’s lists. Your prime keywords remain the same on both the websites, but mobile users do select slightly different phrasing. Remaining active on social media and providing links to your mobile website guarantees more activity arriving your way. If your links get reposted, your website is assured of a higher rank.

Enhance Engagement With Your Customers by Opting for a Mobile-Friendly Website

If your business enterprise lacks a mobile-ready website or lacks a website altogether (surprisingly, many small businesses do lack a website), NOW is the right time to launch a mobile-friendly website. Opt for a mobile-friendly website for your business ─ your customers want it. Businesses that delay launching a mobile-friendly version of their business website will lose customers and revenue. More importantly, these enterprises will be overtaken by their competitors who have decided to follow the trend.

Reason 9: Mobile-Friendly Website Design Drives Fresh Sales

A mobile web presence results in new sales opportunities for your business enterprise. Since your potential customers use mobile devices on an ongoing basis every day, a mobile-ready website results in sales opportunities that you’d miss out on a conventional business website.

Mobile-Friendly Website Promotes Customer Retention

An overwhelming 66% of Smartphone users said a mobile-friendly website persuades them to make a purchase. Likewise, 74% said that they would definitely revisit a mobile-friendly website.

Reason 10: Setting Up a Mobile Website is Inexpensive & Simple

Getting a mobile website for your business need not be expensive. As with all sophisticated technology, mobile website design and upkeep carried an exorbitant price when it was newly introduced. Nevertheless, you can fashion a mobile variant of your existing business website or even opt for a fresh Responsive Web Design without denting your marketing budget.

It’s not essential to begin from scratch

Setting up a mobile website for your business doesn’t necessitate beginning from scratch. If you own a WordPress or Joomla website, you need to merely incorporate a component that exhibits your existing website content optimally on a mobile device. This is regardless of the device’s screen size. If this option isn’t feasible, your website developer can easily recreate your prime content for easier mobile surfing. Mobile browsers automatically redirect visitors to these modified pages.

What’s the Difference Between Mobile and Responsive Design?

There are two major methods for creating a mobile websites Responsive Design and Mobile Templates. Responsive design requires you only have one website that is coded to adapt to all screen size no matter what the device it’s being displayed on.

In contrast, a mobile template is a completely separate entity requiring you to have a second mobile only website or sub-domain. Mobile templates are also built for each specific, not per screen size. This can cause some issues as we will discuss below.

Responsive design, a term originally coined in a 2010 A List Apart article by Ethan Marcotte, responsive design has been by far the most popular and widely used method for designing a mobile website. Here are just a few of the undeniable reasons your website needs to be responsive.

Where To Study Web Design For Mobile

Here At Web Design Academy

If you can design mobile websites you are set to be a well sought after designer these days. Everybody is rushing to get themselves “Mobile”. This class provides you with the concepts and skills to use HTML5 effectively to design websites for mobile devices.

This course really covers all aspects of mobile design, starting with a brief history all the way through to the future of mobile website design.

You get hands-on training working with basic through advanced techniques to get the most out of your experience. You will learn the basics of coding for mobile web design, beginning with HTML and advancing to more complex HTML5 fundamentals. You will also learn basics to advanced CSS techniques to complete your mobile web design course.

As you might expect, a mobile website is designed specifically for mobile devices, not to be confused with viewing a site made for desktop browsers on a mobile browser. Mobile websites are characterized by their simple “drill-down” architecture, or the simple presentation of navigation links that take you to a page or level deeper.

Though mobile websites are fairly easy to create, they fail to display consistently across multiple mobile browsers – a trait common to all mobile web mediums. We will teach you how to detect mobile devices and how to design so that your website looks good on over 5000 different devices.

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