Deciphering the Statistics: The Importance of Mobile Web Design
The Internet is awash with statistics showing the astronomical growth of the mobile web. The question for small business owners is, “What does this mean for my business?” Is it important to know that at least 75% of smartphone owners admit to taking their phones to the bathroom with them? Maybe, maybe not. We understand that small business owners are a busy lot and don’t have time to ferret out what all of these statistics mean—as one of the premiere mobile web design companies in Northern Virginia, that’s our job. Boiling it all down, we can sum up how the statistics illustrate the importance of mobile web design for small businesses with these three key points:
Mobile Web Design Isn’t the future, It’s Now
Depending on which statistics you look at, the number of people using their smartphones and tablets to search the web will exceed the number of people using their desktops for the same purpose sometime this year (2013) or early next year (2014). So what does that mean for a small business? That means you need a website that will look and function great on a small smartphone screen, and you need it as soon as possible. As of this writing, only about 26 percent of small business owners have a mobile-optimized website while 70% (and counting) of smartphone and tablet users on the move employ their devices for shopping and product research activities. That means small businesses that recognize the importance of mobile web design now will have a significant competitive advantage over those businesses that don’t. How significant? Of that small (but growing) 26 percent of businesses with a mobile-friendly website, 84 percent of them have been able to document an increase in sales—directly attributable to their mobile websites!
Mobile Web Users Don’t Wait
This tidbit should definitely make small businesses think fast about getting their mobile website up and running: Mobile device users who are looking for a product, a service, a restaurant, etc. decide in only a few split seconds whether or not to patronize a company based on whether their mobile website is easy to use—or not. Non-mobile optimized websites, as viewed from a mobile device, are usually very hard to navigate, the print is way too small to read, and the information is not presented in a way that someone on the move can use that information quickly to make a decision. That equals lost sales and lost customers: 67 percent of mobile device surfers reported they would rather do business on a mobile-optimized website, while 61 percent said they simply surf to another website in a matter of seconds if they didn’t see what they were looking for immediately. Time is of the essence where mobile customers are concerned, and if your website isn’t mobile-optimized, potential customers are going to look elsewhere—fast. No small business wants that! With the increasing importance of mobile web design, you need a mobile site that is easy to navigate and the user can very quickly find what they want.
Mobile Device Users (Your Customers) are Way Ahead of Small Businesses
More than half of Americans are using smartphones for shopping and/or product and service research. Remember how only 26 percent of small businesses have a mobile-optimized website? The importance of mobile web design should be very clear by now. Today’s culture of interactive marketing dictates that successful businesses will be very passionate about understanding their customers. Building relationships and increasing the number of touch points where your small business is interacting with and pleasing your customers is critical—and right now, the customers are marching forth with their mobile devices in hand. Be ready to please them by starting the year off with a smart, easy-to-use, customer-pleasing mobile website!
Sample some of our mobile website designs here. Request a free demo of what your new mobile website could look like. Contact us with any questions, or just order your new mobile website today! Don’t wait another minute, or your customers will be marching off to the competition!