With smartphone usage growing exponentially, it is important to consider developing a mobile site to make accessing your website information easier for smartphone owners. Most often, those who visit a website from a mobile device know exactly what they’re looking for, which gives you the opportunity to simplify your website featuring its most relevant “on the go” (or quick reference) content. Mobile visitors will appreciate the simplicity and ease of navigation of a mobile site.

Smartphone facts:

-91% of all Americans use a cell phone
-39% of all mobile users have smartphones
-According to a study by Google, of those who have a smartphone, 81% browse the Internet, 77% search the Web, 68% use an app, and 48% watch videos on their smartphone

Reasons to have a mobile website:

Mobile Use—The percentage of website visits from a mobile device compared to visits from a computer are growing every day. There is a great opportunity to develop a mobile presence to target this mobile demographic and provide them with easy access while they are on the go.

Mobile Search—When a mobile user searches for a website through their mobile device, the index used to produce results is different that the index used for non-mobile searches. Since mobile site development is fairly new, these indices are smaller. Therefore, developing an optimized mobile site will help in higher organic search rankings.

Visibility—Viewing a non-mobile website through a smartphone can be difficult because of the limited screen size of the mobile device. Viewers often have to zoom in on small text and scroll through the website, both up and down and sideways, multiple times to view the entire page. This can be annoying to some, which may result in them leaving your website.

Navigation—Those who view a website from a smartphone are often searching for different information than if they were viewing it from a desktop computer. It can be very valuable to simplify your navigation, offering your most visited pages on the mobile home page to make it easier for visitors to find the information they’re looking for.

Flash—iPhones and iPads do not display Flash graphics. Unless you have a static image programmed to replace the Flash graphics, visitors will see a blank screen, if you have a Flash feature on your website. It is important to think about the design of your mobile website and how it differs from a full site.

E-Commerce—In 2009, $1.6 billion was purchased from mobile devices. If you have something to sell, developing a mobile site is highly recommended. Not only can a mobile site make it easier for consumers to buy your product, it can reach those on-the-go consumers who want to make impulse purchases, which may increase your overall sales.

Mobile Coupons—With the use of mobile coupons on the rise, having a mobile site will make it easier for consumers to use those coupons when they get them rather than having to wait until they get home to use their computer.

Consumers Expect It—These days, consumers are expecting everything to be mobile. If they go to your site once and have a bad experience because it’s not tailored for mobile use, chances are, they’ll never go back to it. On the flip side, mobile users who have a good experience with your site are more apt to share positive information about their experience when they’re on a mobile device than on a computer.

Keep in mind there is a difference between a mobile website and a mobile app. Stay tuned for an upcoming CaliberPulse article identifying and explaining these key differences.

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