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Every day, the shift from desktop to mobile users for your website becomes larger. What does this mean for your marketing strategy? What could this mean for your business?
People rely more on their smartphone and tablets than ever, and your web design needs to speak to them.
This year was the year that the percentage of users on mobile websites overtook those on desktops. That means that more than half of potential customers for the average business are looking for their next products and service purchases on a mobile device.
Of course the extent to which your business relies on its mobile presence depends on your industry, and we’re not debating that. Restaurants will still rely more on visitors on smartphones than investment firms. However, it’s no longer a ‘nice to have’ feature for your website to look as good on a phone as it does on your laptop — it’s now the cost of doing business, regardless of industry.
What your web design needs to reach mobile users
We won’t go into the technical web development details, but there are a few general considerations before planning a mobile friendly web design:
Your Ideal User Experience
The information most relevant to each users can be differentiated based on the device they connect to your business with online. Often, mobile users are looking for different information, and are at a different stage of the buying cycle. Users that are comparing your business with your competitors may tend to do so on their desktop. Mobile users may likely be ones that want to quickly get in touch with your sales team. To strategically reach all potential customers in a way that resonates, it’s important to map out what information your ideal customer in each scenario is looking for, and what message you want to communicate with your website on that device.
Your Content Management System (CMS)
We love content management systems like WordPress because they put our clients in control of their own content. After we complete a new website design project for our clients, they are able to easily update information and add pages and posts internally. Remember when mobile websites had an ‘m.‘ in front of the address? Gone are the days of standalone mobile websites! Your website is your website, and through utilizing a content management system, it only needs to be updated once to show your content seamlessly across all devices.
Your Online Marketing Activities
Your mobile-friendly web design will serve potential customers that find your site organically, but you can also do more with a mobile site when combined with other online marketing. Paid search platforms like Google AdWords make it easy to target mobile users specifically. And through Facebook and Twitter advertising, you can reach mobile customers on the social networks they spend the most time on. Targeting mobile users and driving them to your mobile site allows you to create a smooth experience, and lets you reach customers that wouldn’t have likely found your desktop website otherwise.
These are just three considerations that apply to all businesses.We’d love to give you a free audit of where you’re at in your specific industry, and recommend a strategy to make it all better.
If your current website doesn’t truly represent your business on your smartphone, get in touch – we love talking about marketing >>!
We are conveniently located on Robson Street, Vancouver. And we always have chocolate…