Now, more than ever, your business needs a mobile-friendly website. Before the pandemic, website visitors were already visiting your website on their mobile phones and tablets. Now, it is even more important to have a website that works seamlessly on all mobile devices: all brands, all sizes.
It’s no secret that smartphones are completely transforming the digital world, providing people with almost constant access to the internet wherever they are. In fact, in 2020, over 90% of the global internet population used a mobile device to go online, and today, mobile traffic accounts for over 55% of total web traffic. If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website, you are losing customers.
With mobile devices becoming even more affordable and the number of smartphone users forecasted to increase even more in the future, it’s undeniable that if your website is not optimized for mobile devices, you are missing out on a huge portion of traffic. Below, we’ll look at the specific reasons why your business needs a mobile-friendly website, and how it will help you grow.
1. A Mobile-friendly Website Improves SEO
Google made an official statement on February 26, 2015, that mobile-friendliness would be a ranking factor in its algorithm. This means that if you don’t have a mobile-friendly website and your website is not optimized for mobile devices, you will be punished in the search engines, which will result in lower traffic to your site overall. In June 2016, Google announced that it would be using a mobile testing tool to determine websites’ mobile-friendliness, which means it is now more important than ever to pay attention to your mobile page’s speed score, design elements and overall performance.
2. Rise of Mobile Shopping
Mobile shopping is taking over the eCommerce sphere, with mobile sales growing every year. In 2021, mobile commerce sales in the US are projected to reach $3.56 trillion, a 22.3% increase from 2020. In fact, in 2021, mobile commerce accounted for 72.9% of all online sales.
Mobile shopping is not only dominating eCommerce – it is making a significant impact on retail sales in general. In the United States, 10% of all retail sales are expected to be generated by mobile commerce by 2025. If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website that is optimized for all mobile devices, you’re not just leaving money on the table; you won’t be competitive at all. And you’re going to lose customers, possibly forever. A mobile-friendly website makes shopping from a hand-held device easier and creates a better experience for your customers.
3. Mobile Content is More Shareable
One of the best ways to increase your pageviews and generate more leads completely organically is by having your website visitors share your content with their friends and family. Mobile-friendly content is easier for them to share via text messaging and social media, which will drive more traffic to your site. Conversely, desktop visitors are unlikely to text a link to others, as it requires the extra step of searching for the same article on their phone, and mobile visitors are also unlikely to share content if it is difficult to read on their device.
4. Makes it Easier for Clients to Contact You
One of the biggest benefits of a mobile-friendly website is that potential clients are already on their cellphone, and they can call you directly from your website simply by clicking on your phone number. This is less hassle than locating your number on a computer and then typing it into a phone, and it will result in improved communication between you and your customers.