Mobile Websites
Does My Website Need to Be Mobile-Friendly?
With the change in Google's algorithm with regards to mobile search, if your website isn't mobile friendly, it will be shown behind sites which are. So when your prospect searches on their mobile device for your product or service, and your site isn't mobile-friendly...you're site will be shown after your mobile-friendly competitors.
This was a huge change in the world of mobile search. Since then, most web design platforms have included a "responsive" mobile version of the desktop site. That means that the website will adapt to the size of the screen that it is shown on. But there is more to just shrinking the size of your website. The entire user experience changes, meaning buttons need to change, font sizes change and there should be fewer large graphics and videos. Google created "Material Design Standards" as a guideline for web designers to create a positive user experience on mobile devices.
Most ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify, have developed excellent responsive tools for their websites. Shoppers need to easily be able to search and buy the products they are looking for. If not, they will move on to the next website that has a more user-friendly mobile experience.
Is Having a Fast Mobile Website Important?
The short answer is, yes, more than ever. Mobile has officially overtaken desktop for a higher percentage of searches on Google. Therefore, businesses are focusing more on their mobile sites than on their desktop sites, particularly for ecommerce.
Having a mobile, or responsive, website is now expected in the world of online business. However, having a FAST mobile site has become crucial. If you can't grab your visitors quickly, they'll move on to the next site. Consumers are becoming more impatient than ever.
You can now speed test your mobile site with Google's "Test My Site" tool. See the link below.
Responsive sites are great, but they need to include an option for an alternate header for your mobile site. It is important to be able to control the loading of large images, graphics, and videos on your mobile site. Many large companies are moving to AMP sites (Accelerated Mobile Pages). This is an open source initiative designed to improve the ecosystem for everyone. At this time, it is mostly being used for news sites that are content heavy. With it's lack of graphics (left off for speed), it can be a lackluster, albeit fast, experience for the typical business.
Call us today to find out how to improve your mobile presence online.