5 Reasons To Make Sure Your Mobile Website Is Up To Date

When mobile browsers first came on the scene, they only offered the ability to access desktop sites on a mobile device. This was often frustrating for users because desktop sites were too large for small mobile screens and often contained large amounts of content that took an eternity to load.

It was not long before website developers began “optimizing for mobile,” but that generally meant simply cutting out the majority of content and paring the site down to the most bare bones information. If users wanted access to all of the features of the site, they still had to access the desktop site.

Now, in an increasingly mobile world, simply “optimizing” for mobile in not enough. More and more web developers and designers are moving to a “mobile first” model. Whether your mobile website is optimized for mobile or mobile first, here are 5 reasons you want to make sure your mobile site is up to date.

1. Rise in “mobile only” users

At one time, desktop computers were the only way to access the internet. Then came laptops, followed by mobile devices. While some people quickly made the switch to only using mobile devices for internet use, desktops remained the most popular way of accessing the internet, with upwards of 80% of internet users using only their desktop to access the internet. While the number of mobile only users remained fairly steady for several years – hovering at around 10% – in 2015, the number of mobile-only users actually surpassed the number of desktop-only users in the US. Since then, however the number of mobile-only users has been steadily on the rise with a projected 52% of Americans being mobile-only by 2021. This means that in order to reach roughly 50% of your client or consumer base by 2021, you will need a strong mobile presence.

2. First impressions matter and more and more that first impression will be made on a mobile site

According to a study done by the Missouri University of Science and Technology, it takes less than 2/10 of a secondfor an online user to form a first impression of your brand once they’ve landed on your company’s website. Beyond that, it takes just another 2.6 seconds for users to focus in such a way as to reinforce that first impression. While you may have a smooth, polished professional website, if your mobile site is not kept up-to-date and offers outdated information, tired graphics or a decidedly dated interface, you may lose half your potential consumer base.

A good litmus test for both your mobile and desktop site is to ask a teenager that is not familiar with what you do to look at your landing page for about 10 seconds. Then ask them what it is they think your business does or what product they think you sell. If they can’t give you a fairly accurate summation of what you do or sell, then you need to consider a serious revamping of your landing page. Some people that come to your page will already know what you do or offer, some will not. But even users that already know what you offer may be confused if they land on your page and it doesn’t seem to offer what they expected it to. Some may stick around to figure out what the disconnect is, but many will not.

3. Even desktop users will access most sites first on a mobile device

In 2014, 25% of all global web searches were conducted on a mobile device by over a billion users worldwide. Considering that 87% of consumers use a second screen device while watching TV, the likelihood is if they encounter your brand while watching TV and are interested enough to find out more, they will look it up on a mobile device. If someone tells them about your product, brand or service and they want to know more, they will most likely look it up right then and there on their mobile device.

4. Security

The digital world is one non-stop battle and never-ending race between those who want to steal data and those who want to keep it secure. Almost the second a security update is released, hackers go to work trying to figure out a way around it. As soon as a hacker finds a way around an update, the security firm must work on a patch to block the access point a hacker found. While mobile devices still remain more secure than networked devices, that is rapidly changing. It only takes a few seconds to download a wealth of valuable data so staying up to date on the latest security protocols on a minute-by-minure or even hourly basis is critical. The second a new security update is available, your mobile site needs to be covered by it.

5. SEO depends on the browsing habits and patterns of both mobile and desktop users

Search engine rankings are determined by a number of factors, which are constantly changing. At one point, mobile data wasn’t even factored in, but in 2016, Google announced their plans to move to mobile-first indexing. This means that what users do on your mobile site is going to carry greater and greater weight in determining your search results rankings. Bounce rate is also a heavy determining factor when it comes to assigning your position in search result.

In the same way that desktop content needs to be kept up-to-date and fresh to keep current visitors coming back for more as well as keeping new visitors occupied for a while, mobile content needs to do the same. This is why it is just simply not enough to “optimize for mobile” by paring down desktop content to only the most minimal essentials. You still need fresh, robust content on your mobile site as well. On top of that, however, your robust content needs to actually be easy to read, use or engage with on a mobile device. Here are some key points to consider when it comes to your mobile website.

• Does it take more than 3 seconds to load? If it does, you need to optimize your content to load faster – but not by just paring it down
• Does your eye move immediately to key messages or selling points?
• Can you read the content easily, without squinting or when you zoom in does the content remain easy to navigate?
• Is the site on the whole easy to navigate?
• Is the call to action clear and evident?
• Is it easy for users who respond to a call to action to input information?
• If the website were not your own, would you spend time on it?

While your desktop site is still a valuable tool, the time is quickly coming when the value of your mobile website will soon eclipse that of your desktop. Keeping both your desktop site and your mobile site up to date with fresh content and a unified user experience is critically important, but while many businesses take a great deal of care with their desktop site, mobile sites are still often overlooked. Often to the detriment of the business they represent.