Why do i need a mobile website?

Nielsen report that 31% of US mobile phone owners have a smartphone as of December 2010, and expect smartphones to become the majority by the end of 2011.

With more and more people owning smartphones and using them to access the internet to search for and contact companies, it’s becoming increasingly important to consider creating a mobile version of your website.  Why….?

It’s important to recognise the difference between mobile & desktop internet visitors.

Mobile internet users have different needs to desktop internet users.  It’s important to recognise the difference between visitors to your website. Those accessing the site from a mobile will be on the go and will be looking to fulfil a need quickly rather than simply browsing the site.  You need to understand what information they are likely to be looking for and ensure it is simple to access and fast to download.

The user experience must be a positive one!

If you haven’t got a mobile version of your site, your complete desktop website will be served.  Desktop sites are not designed for the small mobile phone screens which means you will loose control over how your brand and website appears.

Users will have to scroll up and down and left and right, in order to read the information.  Websites with a large number of pages will also have long download times – which can not only be frustrating to the user but also costly.  Ultimately this will lead to poor user experience and a negative impression being left on your company.

Having a mobile website will improve your rankings in mobile search results

Google gives more value to mobile websites in search results from mobile devices, to ensure the end user has a postitive experience.  As mobile websites are only in the early stages, this can present you with a key opportunity to be ranked higher than your competitors for your keywords, if they don’t currently have a mobile site, or will enable you to compete with them if they do.

Your mobile website should complement & work alongside your complete website. 

It’s important that your two websites are complimentary and work together to deliver the right experience to your customers through the right channel.  As your mobile website is a scaled down version of your website and should only contain the key information that mobile web visitors are likely to be searching for, links can be provided ‘for more information’ that can direct visitors to the relevant pages of your desktop site.

Summary

As mobile internet usage increases more and more businesses are likely to create mobile versions of their website.  Through doing so you will be able to; extend the reach of your business; provide mobile users with a positive experience with relevant information delivered easily and quickly and will improve your ranking on mobile search results.

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