People these days browse websites from their mobile phones more than from their laptops or desktop computers. It is a lot more convenient for someone to just open a browser in their phones which are usually in their hands or pockets, instead of waiting to get back to their desk to turn on their computers. This is why businesses must build a mobile website.
Having a mobile-friendly website means having a responsive website, which can be browsed as smoothly through a mobile device as from a desktop computer or laptop. Although everyone was aware of this decades ago, it is only recently that brands and businesses have realized the real value of a mobile-optimized website.
When a business runs advertisements, it can judge from the analytics that most ad viewers see the ad from their mobile phones. Not having a mobile website can waste away most of the resources consumed in running advertising campaigns if the ads and campaigns are not optimized for mobile phones.
Traditional websites, or those developed just a few years ago, were not optimized for visits from a mobile device. The web pages were not really formatted for being viewed on a mobile display. Most of the pages did not render well on mobile phones. The images would sometimes overlap with the text, or the spacing between the content would get distorted.
Gradually, some industries and businesses began to respond to these issues by transitioning their professional websites to mobile websites. They realized that this is an important issue that strongly impacts the bottom-line and core of their business operations and revenue. Soon after that, other businesses began to follow suit and started coming up with mobile-optimized websites.
It is common for organizations and individuals to consider building mobile-friendly websites from the beginning so that later they don’t have to go through a complete transformation to convert them into a mobile website. If they include mobile-friendly features in their website from the start, they don’t have to worry about their site’s responsiveness at a later stage.
These days, many website builders enable people to create a responsive website on their own without requiring any coding skills or having to hire a website developer. These website-building platforms are developed with the importance of having a mobile-optimized website in mind. They offer features that allow you to create responsive pages, which are as neat when opened from a mobile device as they are when accessed in desktop view.
Let’s discuss the benefits of a mobile website in more detail. Let’s also define what a mobile website is because that will help you understand why it is so important in this day and age.
What is a Mobile Website?
A mobile website is a website that is designed in a way that it renders perfectly on the smaller screens of smartphones, iPhones, Android phones, tablets, iPads, and so on. In easy words, they are responsive enough to render properly on any size of a screen and any kind of device. Its website content gets adjusted automatically according to the screen size and device type.
Mobile-optimized websites display larger text, easily readable content, faster download speed on mobile phones, and touch-friendly buttons. They have page elements that are fully in sync with mobile devices. If a website is not responsive enough, its content will not appear neat or readable on a mobile device. Thus it is easy to determine whether your website is optimized for mobile phones or not - simply browse it from your smartphone and see if you can access all its pages, buttons, and content conveniently.
A mobile website has mobile-friendly navigation. Users do not face confusion or difficulty when they visit it from the convenience of their phone. It is developed keeping its mobile view in mind, and auto-adjusts to the screen size of the device it is accessed from.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
A mobile website is different from an app. Apps are installed from Google Play or App Store, while websites are accessed through browsers. Although a brand’s mobile-optimized website can have a layout or design that’s very similar to its app, it is not the same thing and should neither be treated as the same.
If a business has its own app, it still needs a mobile website. Users would still like to access its website to get more information about its products and services before getting familiar with its app. Therefore, having an app is not a good enough excuse for a business to run away from the importance of a mobile-friendly website. Since website development has become a lot less costly than ever before, even small businesses can now afford to have a mobile website and a simple app.
Benefits of a Mobile Website
We assume you have already understood how important a mobile website is for a business. But let’s still list down the benefits of a mobile website below.
1. Smooth Browsing Experience For Site Visitors
A mobile website enables your site visitors to browse through it smoothly from their mobile devices. This really helps in keeping your bounce rate low, as users do not get annoyed with the slow download speed or untidy text when they visit your site from a phone. Hence, they can open your site even while they are commuting from home to work or vice versa. They don’t have to wait to get to their desk before they can check out your website updates.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
2. Compatibility With Different Devices
A responsive website is compatible with all kinds of devices. Different users have different types of devices for their personal and professional use. If visitors can properly access your website from a limited range of devices, you’ll be losing out on a large audience that could potentially become your loyal customers. A mobile website gives you the compatibility that will make you stand out from the competition.
3. Ability to Serve the Huge Market of Mobile Users
The market of mobile users is a lot larger than the market of desktop users. This is proven when a business runs advertising campaigns, only to find out from the analytics that 90% of their ad viewers saw the ad on the phone. Thus if you don’t have a mobile website, you could be missing out on reaching or serving up to 90% of your target audience.
4. Enhanced Search Engine Rankings
A mobile website also gives a boost to your site’s SEO. This is because a website’s responsiveness is one of the factors taken into account by Google for determining how high it will rank in its search results. Good website SEO means higher traffic, which in turn can really boost your brand awareness.
5. Better Brand Image
When your site visitors see that you have put in the effort and money to build a website that they can easily access from their mobile device, they associate a positive reputation with your brand. In other words, you can create a good brand image with a mobile website.
6. Increased Website Conversions
A mobile website can get you more conversions or leads than a traditional website. People are generally in a light-hearted mood when they are browsing through the internet on their mobile devices. This can work in your favor if they happen to visit your site in a good mood. Even if they do not make a purchase, they are more likely to take a softer desired action, such as signing up for your monthly newsletter.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
7. More Sales On Your Online Store
If you have an ecommerce mobile website, you will be able to make more sales out of it than the sales you can make from a desktop-only site. This is because people often make impulse buying decisions, and they are usually in their most impulsive mood when they are using and browsing through their phones.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
8. Speedy Loading Time
If your website takes too long to load on a mobile device, it gives an awful impression which is not suitable for your brand image. A mobile website makes web pages download faster. This helps you prevent getting your users frustrated.
If you want to build an efficient and professional mobile-optimized website, join our website building platform at Strikingly and choose a suitable ready-to-use template. We will assist you through our live chat customer support 24/7. Our free plan offers all the simple features needed to build a basic but awesome mobile website.
Many of our users who build a site on our platform share the ease of doing so. They can enjoy speedy loading time and increased average browsing time of site visitors on the mobile-friendly websites they build with us. We are here to provide all kinds of technical support, and we firmly believe that if others can do it, you can do it too.
