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If Your Website Isn’t Mobile Friendly – You May As Well Not Have One


Despite millions of people browsing the Internet on their phones and tablets every day, many sites still aren’t mobile friendly. Mobile has been growing for years now and it’s easy to see that mobile friendly websites aren’t just a passing fad.

If you have a standard website versus a mobile or responsive site, there’s really no point to it. In fact, it could be hurting your business more than helping it. You want your brand to be known for being customer friendly. Step one is make sure your site works on their terms.

Conform To Screen Sizes

Phones, tablets and PCs come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. While your site looks great on a standard desktop computer, that same site requires visitors to scroll up/down and left/right constantly just to read the text on your home page. Do you think anyone enjoys that much work just to check out your website? Of course not!

The recommended approach to a mobile friendly website is design sites as responsive. This means they adapt naturally to various screen sizes. Instead of visitors running away from your site and telling all their friends about their horrible mobile experience, your new responsive site conforms to their screen, giving them a pleasant experience instead.

Get A Boost In Rankings

Since Google added mobile friendly as one of the many ranking factors, it’s more beneficial than ever to consider upgrading to a mobile friendly website. Sites that are mobile friendly rank higher on searches performed on mobile devices. Over time, this could also boost your rank on desktop searches as well.

With the May 2016 update to the mobile portion of the algorithm, Google may now rank mobile friendly sites even higher than before. Google’s even warning site owners if their sites aren’t ready for mobile.

Cater To Growing Mobile Usage

Mobile usage is growing throughout the world and Ireland is no exception. Irish usage is actually the highest in the western world. In July 2015, users spent 33% of their time online on their phones and 11% on tablets. Nearly half of all their time spent online is from a mobile device.

Though the number has likely grown since 2015, another shocking statistic might be that 80% of online users own and use a smartphone regularly. With mobile usage on the rise, you have to be ready to cater to this audience. You don’t have to give up your desktop site, but make sure your site is easy to use for your entire audience, much of which is likely accessing your site via mobile.

Search Often Begins On Mobile

Mobile search has finally surpassed desktop search. Google officially announced in 2015 that searches from smartphones exceeded those from desktops and even tablets. If visitors find your site while on their mobile device, will they like what they see? Will they have to zoom in to read text or will it fit their screen automatically?

If you don’t have a mobile friendly site, you’ll be left with disgruntled visitors that flock to your more mobile friendly competitors. Instead of your site helping you, it’ll drive visitors away. This is the last thing you want to happen.

Reach Customers Where They Live

Odds are, you’re either ready this post on a mobile device or your mobile device is within arm’s reach. The truth is, the majority of your visitors likely live on their mobile devices. While they’re shopping, they’re comparing prices via their smartphone. They’re doing a little online shopping while having lunch in a nearby restaurant. If you want to truly reach your customers where they live online, you’ll need a mobile friendly website.

Ready For A Mobile Friendly Website Now?

Mobile isn’t a trend that’ll suddenly disappear. It’s here to stay and your website must adapt or gradually be abandoned completely by visitors. Making the switch to a responsive design isn’t difficult and it’ll make it easy for visitors to access your site on any device for years to come. It’s a crucial investment to make your website work for you instead of against you. Plus, it labels you as a brand that cares about its customers’ needs.

Image: Tatiano Nino


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