Is your website ready for mobile devices?

Internet and mobile technology have evolved in a rapid phase where you will find any information at your fingertips. Mobile devices are becoming the major device used around the world to find information and access millions of services from buying groceries to checking a live video feed from the space. The importance of having a mobile devices friendly website is the key to survive in the highly competitive business world in the future. If you are not certain that your website is future proof or if you are planning to create a brand-new website, this will help you to clear out some doubts.

Mobile devices will dominate the future over desktops

Yes, it is happening. According to Nielsen Mobile Report issued in July 2015,

• 5 million Australians accessed the internet on smartphones and 7.4 million Australians on tablets.
• Australians 18+ spend more time on smartphones than any other digital device, with just over 33 hours per person per month spent browsing or using apps.
• 9 million Australians used commerce or shopping sites on their smartphone and 5 million on their tablet.
• 75% of Australian smartphone users are connecting to financial services or information every month.
• Time spent browsing or on applications is now highest on smartphones than desktop or any other device with 42 percent of total time spent on smartphones.
• More than 10 million Australians are using smartphones for entertainment, news, social and search each month.

It also shows that smartphone ownership in Australia increased steadily according to the following chart which contained in the same report.

Is your website responsive?

Responsive in web design terms is the ability to change the website layout according to the device’s screen size. For example, if your website is responsive it should be able to adjust its layout when you visit it from your mobile device or any device having a larger screen like a laptop or desktop. The main noticeable difference between a responsive and a non-responsive website is seeing a horizontal scrollbar in a smaller screen like a mobile device and text is hard to read. The following image shows it exactly.

Mobile users won’t stay on your website if the website is not responsive since it gives the impression that they are visiting an outdated website even though the product or service you promote on your website is the highest quality. If you are expecting your sales pitch to do the marketing without a responsive website, it is simply not going to work.

Will a non-responsive website show up in Google’s top search results?

It was not a concern during the past. But it is now. According to Google,

Starting April 21, 2015, Google Search will be expanding its use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in Google Search results. Users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results optimized for their devices.

Google

In simple, if your website is not responsive, it will not show up in top Google search results of mobile devices even though it is shown up in the Google search results of desktops or laptops. Nielson statistics mentioned above clearly indicate that mobile devices are taking over desktops and laptops. Therefore, if you are a business owner hoping to find more sales through your website, this should be a major concern to you.

It is possible to make an existing website responsive?

Yes, it is possible. I have done it before for many clients and it doesn’t affect your current search rankings and the rankings will improve after some time. There will be layout changes with a better look in mobile devices. If there are custom functions on the website, especially if it has third party integrated scripts, the re-design should be carefully done to make sure that all the third-party components are responsive.

How to check whether your website is responsive?

This must be your next question coming to your mind. Luckily, there is an easy way to do this. Please send us a request and we will do it for FREE of charge.