If you use a desktop or laptop for online searches, you know that the information and websites appear in a landscape format. The neat site layout and large screen allow users to easily scroll through the information on a page.
However, if you were to access the same webpage on your phone, you may experience challenges with navigation and accessibility if the site is not optimized for mobile. A mobile-friendly website is vital to the success of eCommerce brands to ensure every potential customer has a seamless user experience (UX) regardless of what device they are browsing from.
This post will discuss the importance of a mobile-friendly site in your digital marketing campaign to provide an optimized UX to all users and their respective devices.
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What Makes a Website Mobile-Friendly?
A mobile-friendly site adapts the natural landscape design to a portrait format so it fits proportionally on the screen of a mobile device. This allows users to see and experience everything from their mobile device as they would from a desktop. A responsive design is a format that changes your website to automatically fit the screen of the searcher regardless of the device they use.
Why is a Mobile-Friendly Website Important?
Having a responsive design that adapts your website to fit mobile devices is critical to providing a positive UX. Here is how optimizing your site for mobile can improve the shopping experience for potential and returning customers.
Mobile Searches Outnumber PC Searches
This year recorded the highest number of mobile searches in history, and mobile searches now account for about 59% of global internet traffic, leaving 41% to PCs and laptops. This means that any website that doesn’t have a mobile-friendly design is missing out on most internet traffic.
Even if the tables turned and PC searches had the majority of web traffic, ignoring mobile searches would still mean losing 41% of potential leads. Mobile devices deliver convenience, ease of use, and portability, making them suitable for on-the-go use. This is critical in today’s busy world.
It’s Better for Search Engine Rankings
Another reason to go with a responsive web design is to improve your search engine result page (SERP) rankings. Google predicted that mobile searches would exceed PC searches as early as 2015 and made an algorithm change that would prioritize mobile-friendly sites over those that weren’t.
Of course, the quality of the content is still vital. However, in a situation where several sites have the same quality of information, mobile-friendliness could be the tie-breaker.
As such, you need to add responsiveness to your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to ensure your site is performing ideally on Google. It could be all that remains to give you a competitive edge over other websites offering similar products or services. If you need to test your site’s mobile-friendliness, Google provides a free mobile-friendly test for assessing the functionality on a mobile device.
It Reduces the Bounce Rate
Unless you are releasing blogs or purely informative pieces, you’ll want searchers to visit more than one of your sites. A bounce occurs when a user visits a page of your website and immediately leaves without making any requests. While a high bounce rate isn’t always bad, it can signify to Google that your site doesn’t meet the searcher’s needs.
If Google thinks that your site isn’t providing value in a particular search subject, your site will rank lower, and, as a result, you’ll see a lot less traffic. This can easily be the case when your website doesn’t adapt to the screens of mobile devices.
Once prospective customers find your site difficult to access or navigate, they’ll leave, and if enough users do this, your site will rank lower for that specific search.
It Looks More Professional
Many brands and businesses claim to provide professional services. However, being professional isn’t just about the quality of products or services you offer; it starts with the experience searchers have on your website.
Whenever a user searches, there are usually millions of results available. This means there’s always another option if your website doesn’t have what they need. If a user visits a site that requires them to zoom in and out to navigate or access products or services, chances are they’ll be dissatisfied and click the next site to see if they offer a better UX.
Responsive websites appear more credible to users than those with only a desktop design. This affects the amount of traffic and sales your site will get.
It Makes Online Shopping Easier
Since the pandemic, many users have turned primarily to online shopping and never looked back. The number of people shopping online continues to grow thanks to the convenience of home deliveries and shipping.
While PCs and laptops have high online shopping stats, many people still shop in online stores using mobile devices. Making your website mobile-friendly will increase the chances of converting leads to online shoppers.
It’s Cheaper and Better than Developing an App
Some business owners assume that developing an app can be a suitable alternative to a mobile-friendly design. An app can be a great platform to present your brand, products, and services to customers, but most searchers don’t want to use an app for simple tasks like browsing. Downloading and setting up an app is a lot of work that most customers won’t do unless they are already loyal to your brand.
Therefore, an app can’t adequately substitute the value of a mobile-friendly website. Plus, it’s more affordable to build and manage a responsive website than a desktop site and app separately.
It’s Easier to Link to Social Media
Today, social media platforms have not only provided a place for people to connect with friends but also for businesses to connect with their audiences. You can use social media for in-platform shopping, connecting with larger target audiences, and maintaining customer engagement.
- Most social media users access the platforms from their phones. A mobile-friendly website is a perfect way to link your social media accounts to your searchers. If they are on similar social platforms, they can certainly follow you and stay up to date on any news you release on your feed.
A mobile-friendly website conforms the page a searcher is viewing to the type of device they have. This means that the searcher can access everything about the website on their phone or tablet just as they would on a computer. A mobile-friendly design can boost your online performance and help you stand out from competitors.
