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How Important Is a Mobile-Friendly Website for Your Business?
A decade ago, marketing experts advised all websites should be mobile-friendly, but some business owners argued that their customers primarily used desktop computers. So what’s the story today?
As digital marketers, we continually review website analytics to understand how people interact with websites, and the statistics reveal that user behavior varies significantly by industry, audience, and intent. Here’s what we know:
Mobile Traffic Dominates for Many Industries
Restaurants, retail stores, health and wellness businesses, entertainment venues, and consumer-focused service providers get the majority of their website traffic from smartphones. Customers search while on the go, looking for hours, menus, directions, reviews, or quick contact information.
Desktop Still Matters for Research and Business Decisions
Businesses that serve other businesses (B2B), professional services firms, manufacturers, and technology companies still see substantial desktop usage. Visitors researching complex services, reviewing specifications, comparing vendors, or completing lengthy forms would rather do these tasks on larger screens.
Nonprofits and Government Organizations See Mixed Usage
Nonprofit and government websites receive traffic from a nearly even mix of desktop and mobile users. The balance depends on the organization's audience and the type of information their users are accessing.
Tablets Are Now a Smaller Piece of the Puzzle
While tablets remain popular in some households and industries, they account for a much smaller share of overall web traffic than they did several years ago. Most traffic now comes from either smartphones or desktop and laptop computers.
The conversation around mobile has changed dramatically since we wrote about this in 2016.
Today, smartphones are the primary way many people access the internet. Consumers use their phones not only for social media and email, but also for shopping, researching products, reading articles, watching videos, booking appointments, making purchases, and communicating with businesses.
But at the same time, desktop computers are still being used for tasks that require deeper engagement, such as:
- Comparing products and services
- Completing detailed forms
- Conducting business research
- Managing finances
- Working with complex applications
- Consuming long-form content
Rather than replacing desktop usage, mobile has become an equally important part of the customer journey.
Unlike ten years ago, today’s websites are just naturally expected to work on any-sized device. Users get frustrated, however, by websites that require pinching and zooming, have tiny buttons, and load slowly. Mobile usability is also key to search engines and plays a part in online visibility. Most importantly, you want every visitor to have a good experience interacting with your business, regardless of the device they're using.
So the question today isn’t really whether your website should be mobile-friendly or not. The goal is to create a user-friendly experience across all devices. Your website should be designed with a responsive, user-first approach that serves visitors whether they're browsing on a smartphone during a commute, researching on a desktop at work, or comparing options from a tablet at home. If your website isn’t living up to this ideal, the Sprocket team can help. Contact us today!
Photo by ready made
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
This article is an update to “Are Your Customers Mobile Website Users or Not?” dated 11/21/2016.
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Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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