Is your website mobile friendly?
Since the concept of responsive web design was introduced by Ethan Marcotte in 2011, the need for a responsive, mobile friendly website has grown steadily, to where it is now seen as a necessity.
Mobile surpassed desktop as the most popular form of browsing in 2015, and continues to increase in usage percentage, standing at 53.98% in November 2021. That’s why it’s so important that websites are mobile friendly and responsive.
Why is mobile exceeding desktop?
A mobile phone has evolved to be so powerful that it is now an essential part of daily life, to the point where most people would feel lost without one. It's so much easier to find what you need through your phone, as it is generally always accessible, whether on your commute or on the sofa in the evening. And with COVID-19, mobile phone usage has been amplified and accelerated even further. According to the State of Mobile 2022 Report by App Annie (https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/state-of-mobile-2022/), users spend on average 4.8 hours a day on their mobile, which equates to a quarter of their time awake.
Not having a mobile friendly site will hurt your business.
The biggest impact on your business if your website is not mobile friendly is that users face an immediate barrier to accessing what they want. If you have come across a website that is not mobile friendly, you will know how frustrating it can be to scale and swipe, to do what you want. Statistics show most users will not even try to use it because of the extra effort they have to make.
Another reason would be social media. With the continuous increase in social media usage, it would be a missed opportunity if a user clicked through to your website from a social channel, only to find they couldn't use it.
On the technical side, a non-responsive website will drastically damage your SEO rankings. Google's Core Web Vitals (https://web.dev/vitals/) update placed user experience at the core of its algorithm for ranking websites. Mobile friendliness and page speed are two key factors in this, and are heavily impacted by a non-responsive website. So even if you have a perfectly optimised site on desktop, if it isn’t mobile friendly, Google will lower your ranking.
Customer first
Ultimately, customers want an online experience that is simple and user friendly, regardless of device, which means your website needs to meet those expectations. Mobile phone usage will only continue to increase and the technology will expand to meet this demand and enhance the user experience further. Having a fully functioning mobile site is an absolute necessity for any business now, but even more so for e-commerce. Keeping up to date and ensuring your website is working the best it can across all devices will only benefit your business.
If you need help with making your website mobile friendly, get in touch.
