It’s coming to the end of 2014 and looking ahead, I can only see the mobile phone and tablet market growing. This means more and more people will be using their smart phones and tablets to surf the Internet. This means they are likely to be doing it on a more regular basis than on a laptop or desktop due it being a device that is always on hand (or pocket).
Year on year, statistics (I know, yawn right? But stick with me….) show that mobile browsing is set to overtake desktop usage globally! That’s an awesome fact, unless your website sucks on a mobile device!
What? You haven’t thought about people viewing your website on a small screen mobile device? Maybe it’s time to stop reading this post and go check how your website looks on a mobile phone or tablet. Don’t forget to finish reading this after you’ve checked it out.
Ahhh, you’re back. How did it look?
You’ll probably find that it falls into one of the following typical scenarios; which one did you find was the closest to your experience?
- It’s already mobile friendly (responsive) – in which case, congratulations, that’s great news. Read on to see WHY it’s great news.
- Your mobile device shows a really small version of your full website – Cool, but not great when the user has to zoom in and out or your navigation doesn’t work properly. This, along with countless other reasons provides a poor version of your website.
- Uh oh! That looks dreadful… bits are all over the place and the site is unusable. Worst case scenario!
Now, if your site performed badly, don’t go picking up the phone and shouting at your web designers. If you didn’t ask for the website to be responsive or it wasn’t included in the proposal then it’s not their fault, they aren’t mind readers.
With 1 in 3 pages viewed in the UK alone being on a mobile device (as of 2013), this just demonstrates how important it is that your website works well on one.
What do I mean by work well?
To put it simply, this means that your website adapts to the various devices that people use to access your site. For example, a desktop or laptop user should have the full experience, with all the layout options in place – the all singing all dancing version.
This isn’t the same for a mobile user, who may be accessing your website on a 3G or slower connection; so making them download the full experience can mean your website is sloooooowww!
Also, the way in which we navigate a website changes when moving from a mouse to a touchscreen device. This is something that also needs to be taken into consideration. A good website will change from a normal menu to a mobile (or touch screen) version to facilitate the users navigation and viewing methods.
While I’ve highlighted a few scenarios, there are a lots more reasons to ensure you have a user-friendly, responsive website to give your site visitors, or potential customers, the best experience. But the primary focus should always be on usability – never put a barrier in the way of your potential customers ability to find out about you or your business.
So how did your website stack up to the 3 scenarios above? If it was example 2 or 3, it’s definitely time to look at updating your website to improve your visitors experience, giving them another reason to choose your company over the competition!
If you would like to discuss your website or mobile friendly responsive design we’re here to help. Call I-Pixel on 01873 85 55 85 or contact us to discuss things in more detail.
