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Is your website only targeting Desktop users?

If the answer is no, what does your website look like on a mobile and tablet?

Are you only targeting desktop users?

Whether the business you work in is an SME, large organisation or even a start-up, it is increasingly likely that your prospects and customers are accessing your website on their smartphone or tablet.

Mobile eCommerce sales have exceeded Desktop for the first time

Research by Ofcom has found that 33% of internet users now view their smartphone as the most important device for getting online, while the IMRG has recently discovered 51% of online sales are made using a mobile device – increasing the importance of ‘Responsive’ web design.

Ease of usability

I am sure you regularly use one yourself and so will be aware of the growing ease of smartphone internet access with the rise of 4G networks and so on. With this in mind, and the fact that we now have a poorer attention span than a goldfish (so the scientists say!), ease of usability is essential to ensure your potential customers stay interested and, ultimately, take a step closer to using your services or purchasing your products.

When looking for a product or service on a smartphone it can be very frustrating to land on a ‘fixed-width’ website built only for desktop computers, making the text on screen tiny and the links on the page – which were not built for touch screen – almost impossible to click!

Google focusing on ‘mobile friendliness’

Unless specifically looking for that particular business, the first thing I (and I’m certain the majority of other users) do, is click the back button and visit another website which is optimised for mobile; that is of course assuming the desktop website was originally found via a search engine. Google’s algorithm now includes ‘mobile friendliness’ as a ranking factor to ensure users are presented with websites that are optimised for the devices they are using to search online.

Mobile Friendly - Google Developers

With the king of search considering mobile usability, it is imperative that your business is too (if you are not already).

Your website may already be attracting traffic and the bulk of the design may even be mobile-friendly, but there is still a possibility that visitors to your site are bouncing before fulfilling your aim: to purchase your product or enquire about your service.

50% of mobile users abandon their purchase after adding to basket

Think of a bounce rate like this: a customer walks into a shop, picks up a t-shirt, heads to the counter only to find a large queue. In frustration at the long wait, the customer puts the t-shirt back and leaves the shop – ultimately leaving without making a purchase.

Compare this to a customer shopping online on their mobile device, there is an argument that users are getting frustrated with the lack of usability throughout the entire purchase process which is resulting in a loss of sales online. Research by the IMRG found an estimated 50% of customers that add products to their basket on mobile are not converting these through the checkout process into sales.

Ultimately, your website needs to be mobile-friendly to ensure the sale of products and/or services are maximised – if your customer is on mobile, you should be too.

Mobile-friendly – a Responsive Design

By now the importance of excellent mobile usability should be buzzing around your head, but how is this achieved?

Using a popular method known as Responsive Web Design, the website is designed to adapt to suit the screen size of the device the site visitor is using (mobile, tablet and desktop), thereby ensuring the best possible browsing experience.

Certainly not a new concept and one of which I am sure many are already aware of, increased mobile usage is once again highlighting the need to ensure your website is fully optimised for mobile. Take the iPhone example below, in which the design of the page has been made responsive with the inclusion of an eShop to make it easy for the visitor, regardless of which device they are using.

The previous non-responsive Desktop site and the Mobile friendly site created by Fellowship Productions

Before & After – Look out for our upcoming case study on Simpsons of Newmarket.

eCommerce > mCommerce

When you combine the proliferation of smartphone usage with well built, responsive eCommerce websites, the more likely it is that we’ll see a continued increase in the number of customers opting to shop online via their mobile devices. Offering a user-friendly mobile experience is the key to maximise from this growth.

How can we help?

Our web designers and developers have vast experience in building websites that perform perfectly on mobile devices. So, whether you’re looking to make your current website mobile-friendly or build a completely new one, email Darren or call him on 01284 774775 to find out how we can help.

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