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Why do I need to have a mobile friendly, responsive design website?

Jul 23, 2013

sheree

Responsive Design is a way to ensure regardless of the device that people are using to view your website, they are getting the best browser experience. However responsive design is more than just optimising your website for mobile devices, it's also about understanding the way in which mobile devices - particularly smart phones – have changed the way people behave online and this means we need to change our activities to ensure we are capturing mobile customers.
Mobile search isn’t a “trend” it’s a fact that more and more people are going to be searching your site via mobile. Not convinced that your B2B target market is mobile users. One easy way to know is through a quick Google Analytics report.

Its simple. Login to your Google Analytics Account. From the left menu under standard reports, choose => Audience => Mobile => Overview. Change the date range to you give you a three to six month snapshot and odds are you will see a rise in mobile use of your website over this period.

Now that you’ve most likely seen the rise in mobile searches of your website, take out your Smartphone and browse through your site yourself. Easy to navigate, buttons easy to click, phone number click to call? Probably not.

In Australia, 60% of all mobile users have smartphones and are increasingly are accessing content on their smartphones.
Almost half of smartphone users research or review purchases on their phone
37 per cent of smartphone internet users have actually made a purchase on their smartphones
More than a third of smartphone internet users have compared product prices on their mobile phone before going in-store to purchase – almost a quarter have actually checked pricing while on the shop floor.

The smartphone is becoming the first point of research for a majority of internet users. More and more customers are beginning their “buying” process on their mobile phones.

What are we searching on Smartphones

Below are some interesting statistics why you should be considering a mobile friendly website for your business.

Over half of local searches are now done on mobile devices – by local searches we mean a search combining a suburb and service in your search ie Eastlakes hairdresser, Arncliffe Pizza, Bankstown Medical centre
Mobile internet usage is on pace to overtake desktop usage by 2014.
51% of Australian smartphone owners search on their smartphone every day, and are searching for
- Product information - 61%
- Restaurants, pubs and bars - 43%
- Travel - 34%
- Job offers - 23%
- Apartments and housing information - 23%
57% of people would not recommend a business with a bad mobile website.
40% of mobile users

The rise of smartphones and their impact on online shopping

The rise of smart phones has had a significant impact on how people now shop online. Whether this is through using multiple devices before making a purchase or using the smart phone on its own, mobile commerce is a growing world, and businesses need to capable of catering to this change.

71% of internet users prefer mobile websites for gathering product reviews
67% of users claim they are more likely to purchase from a mobile-friendly website
24% of smart phone users utilise their device to compare prices and learn about specific products
22% have changed their minds about an in-store purchase based on information they've gathered on their smart phone
19% have changed their minds about an online purchase based on information they've gathered on their smart phone
33% of product research performed on a smart phone leads to a purchase being made on a computer; 29% leads to offline purchases (e.g. in-store)
28% of smart phones users make purchases directly on their device; of these users, 59% make a purchase at least once a month
28% of smart phone users expect to make more purchases directly on their devices in the future

Why Responsive design is the best option for a mobile friendly website

Keeps your content consistent across several different sites
It is better for SEO and easier to manage SEO efforts
Compiles all inbound links to one location
Your site will stay relevant longer – no need to build a new website in 18 months when a new screen size sweeps the market
It Increases website conversion

Statistics listed come courtesy of Google's Australian "Our Mobile Planet" survey, which they ran in 2012. They surveyed a total of 1,000 Australian adults from the ages of 18 - 64 years of age. The gender split was 52% male and 48% female.

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