Impulse Creative
It's no surprise that mobile usage has skyrocketed over the past several years. To prove it, all you need to do is look around you. It doesn't matter whether you're at a restaurant, at the park, or on a cruise. Smartphones and tablets are everywhere. No matter where we are, we're practically plugged into our mobile devices at all times.
Even with all of the information showing how mobile usage is taking over PC usage when it comes to search, there are still many small businesses that have not yet adapted to this change. If you fall into this category, read on to learn the importance of having a responsive, mobile-friendly website for your small business.
The difference between mobile and responsive
A responsive website design means that you have one website that is coded to adapt to all screen sizes. This means that your website will restructure and reorganize itself based on the device that someone is using.
On the other hand, a mobile website is a completely separate site that requires you to have a second, mobile-only website and subdomain. Mobile websites are not built to adapt to different screen sizes and often cause issues with readability, loading times, display, and navigation.
Having a responsive website isn't just an option anymore – it's practically a necessity. Still on the fence? Here are 5 undeniable reasons that your small business needs a responsive website:
1. More and more people are browsing on mobile
This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, especially since mobile phones have become a huge part of everyday life. If you don't believe us, these stats speak for themselves:
- The average smartphone user checks their phone up to 150 times per day (KPCB)
- Approximately 26% of all emails are opened on mobile phones, and 10% are opened on tablets (Knotice)
- 95% of smartphone users have searched for local info (Google)
- 25% of online searches are conducted on mobile devices (Search Engine Journal)
2. Lower bounce rate
If a visitor comes to your business' website and it's not responsive, there's a good chance that they're going to leave without viewing another page. This can have a negative impact on your website's bounce rate. In turn, it can also impact your ranking in search engines.
Having a responsive site means that your website's visitors won't have to zoom in to read the text or scroll around trying to find the navigation bar. A responsive site will automatically adapt to whatever device someone is using. When your website is easy to navigate, users will stay on your site and visit more pages – decreasing your bounce rate in the process.
3. Better user experience
Think about the last time you went to a poorly designed site on your phone. Chances are, you spent a lot of time zooming in, turning your phone, and scrolling side-to-side instead of actually reading the content on the website.
According to Google's Think Insights, 96% of consumers have come across a site that wasn't designed with mobile in mind. Additionally, 61% of users said that if they didn't find what they were looking for right away on a mobile site, they'd quickly move to another site. Not to mention that 50% of people said that even if they like a business, they would use them less often if the website wasn't mobile-friendly. This is a big problem – and a big opportunity – if you're looking to engage with mobile users.
4. Adapts to future devices
One of the biggest benefits of responsive design is that the size of the template is based on screen size rather than device. When a new device comes out in the future (think: watches, glasses, etc.), your business' responsive site will automatically adapt to the screen size. No additional work needed.
5. Preferred by Google
It's no secret that Google is the biggest search engine. Google controls approximately 67.5% of U.S. search query volume, and 87.1% of mobile searches are done on Google (comScore). Google not only recommends that businesses use responsive web design, but they also favor mobile-optimized sites in search results.
Google's newest update confirms this. Starting April 21st, more mobile-friendly sites will rank in search results, and Google will be expanding their use of mobile friendliness as a ranking signal throughout mobile searches. This update will make it easier for users to get relevant, high-quality results that are optimized to their device. You can learn more about Google's newest update by visiting our blog.
If your small business' website isn't already responsive, there's a good chance that you're missing out on some serious opportunities to engage with visitors and to convert those visitors into customers.
We want to know: Is your small business' website responsive? If so, what has been the biggest benefit?
