7:00 AM
El DiPablo
So why do we still write code for the desktop? Keeping a clean, functional site for the big screen will always be important, but based on the data above, it's clear that it should no longer be the first priority. But here we are, lagging way behind current trends, with some sources citing that less than 10 percent of small business websites are optimized for mobile.
There's no excuse not to have a fully responsive website in 2015. The benefits far outweigh the headaches, making it a worthy investment to create a new site or update your current system so mobile users can navigate with ease.
Google's Reward
SEO is a huge market for websites competing for prominent placement in search results and sites that don't go mobile miss a huge piece of that pie. Google now rewards mobile-friendly sites with better search results.The "why" is never spelled out by the search engine giant, but this could be its way of trying to move a majority of the websites on the Internet into the 21st century. With such an enormous incentive on the table, expect to see a huge increase in mobile sites in the near future.
Anyone Can Do It
You don't need to know code to go mobile. Website builders are current with both smartphones and tablets, and have all the tools needed to build a good website, even if all you want is a landing page.Many tools no longer even give you the option and assume mobile is just part of the deal.
ThemeForest.net, a popular marketplace for WordPress themes, bundles smartphone and tablet layouts right alongside desktop layouts in nearly all of their templates. In fact, when using many of the building tools out there, it's nearly impossible not to make a mobile-friendly site even without trying.
Users are Fickle and Impatient
The average web user will leave a page within three seconds if it doesn't load correctly or the interface is frustrating to use. That means you've lost hundreds, maybe thousands, of viewers who don't want to deal with a non-mobile friendly site before they even see any content on your page.If your site relies on ad revenue, this is even more devastating as advertisers certainly don't want to invest on a site with a viewer retention rate that's lower than a few seconds, let alone when there are little to no clicks on ads.
Build a Site to Complement
A final note of importance is to build a mobile site that complements your full-size site, not one that stands apart from it. People think of logos and tag lines when they think of the phrase brand equity, but it applies to your web design too.Take a company like Apple, that is renowned for excellent marketing and branding. Even though Apple.com is fully responsive on mobile, it carries the same feel on both mobile and desktop versions, which is exactly what you need for your own site. The functionality should change depending on the format, but the look and feel should be consistent throughout.
