Over the last 12 to 18 months, there has been a lot of talk about responsive web design with each passing year being dubbed 'the year of mobile'. It seems now, that time is finally here. With mobile devices and tablets now
accounting for on average over 25% of web traffic, businesses will really start to suffer if their site isn't properly optimised to cater for all devices.
It's well known that digital marketers have just a few seconds to capture someone's attention when they arrive at a website, and if it isn't mobile friendly, that simply isn't going to happen. There are two things you can be
sure of: your bounce rate will increase and your conversion rate will fall dramatically - by up to 75%. If an organisation depends on their website to bring business, then they really can't afford to let this happen.
If your site is not mobile optimised then you can be sure that a huge proportion of your customers are not getting a good experience from it, which certainly won't do your brand image or reputation any favours. After all, you wouldn't be happy with 25% of the people who called your business hanging up unhappy with the experience, would you?
The good news is that many businesses have started to think about these issues and prepare their website. The bad news is that if you are one of those that haven't, it is even more important that you put a strategy in place now, because you can be sure that your competitors are already doing it.
The real need for a mobile optimised website is to preserve the user experience, making it quick and easy for your customers and web visitors to find the information they are looking for. Not many businesses can afford to alienate such a large proportion of their web traffic and that is certain to happen without investing in a well optimised site.
Mobile optimisation isn't just about making your existing web site small enough to fit on a smaller screen. Good optimisation is all about an intuitive experience and user engagement - the key to a successful web presence.
When it comes to mobile optimisation, the buzzword at the minute is definitely 'responsive design', but it's worth remembering that it isn't your only option. Sometimes a responsive site might not be the right fit for your digital strategy and that's fine, after all, if LinkedIn can get away with abandoning a responsive website then you can too - as long as you don't neglect mobile all together.
It's important to choose the right approach for your customer base and whether you decide on a responsive website, standalone mobile platform or an app, you need to keep one thing in mind - get the user experience right and
the rest will follow.
By Adam Blenkinsop, Head of Digital at r//evolution marketing.
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