responsive website design and development

Why You Need A User-Friendly And Mobile-Responsive Website

Do you know why you need a user-friendly and device-responsive website? If you have not optimized your website for mobile, you have run out of time.

On the other hand, if you are going to design and develop a new website, be sure that it is user and mobile-friendly.

Such a result-oriented marketing move will help you avoid a redesign in the future.

It also helps you stay ahead of the curve.

Today, whether people are at the subways, airports, bus stops, or even around company break rooms, your target audience is using their mobile devices.

And as long as the quality of 4G and 5G services keep improving, mobile device manufacturers will continue to introduce better digital toys.

With multiple and cheap mobile devices, more people are on the internet from different mobile devices than on traditional computers.

Manufacturers of these mobile devices are already loading them with full web browsing capabilities and more.

And brands need mobile-friendly and responsive websites for the browsing and engagement experiences of their website visitors who use mobile devices.

Why?

Check this out: 

According to AdWeek, 72 percent of mobile device users say that it’s important to them that websites are mobile-friendly.

Do you know that 96 percent have visited a site that doesn’t work well on their mobile device? 

Further, of the 1,088 smartphone users surveyed, about 67 percent showed they would be more likely to purchase a product or service from a business that 'wows' them with the experience of a well-crafted mobile-friendly website.

Moreover, 61 percent of those users surveyed, also said that they’d leave a website that’s not optimized for mobile.

There is no doubt about it, a mobile-friendly website is more important today than you've imagined.

In this article, you will learn what a user-friendly website is and why you need an awesome user-friendly website that boosts the sale of your products or services.

After that, we will learn what a mobile-friendly website is and why your website should be mobile-friendly going forward.

Let's get started.

What Is A User-Friendly Website?

mobile friendly website needs

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Why do you need a user-friendly website?

HubSpot.com research shows that over 75% of respondents rank the ease of finding information as the most important factor in a website.

A website that’s too complicated to navigate, with content too difficult to understand, or design functionality too difficult to use, will not meet its objectives, and you will lose business.

user-friendly website is easy to navigate and understand.

Your user interface makes a huge difference on whether you want your website visitors to stay, browse and buy from you or click away from your competition.

And when your site visitors love your website, Google does too.

Unfortunately, many businesses and organizations make the mistake of neglecting the user experience.

Any digital storefront that is going to have any success in attracting and keeping site visitors must be designed for the ultimate user experience.

That user experience is the theme of the authoritative book on website user experience by Mr. Krug - "Don't Make Me Think!

A user-friendly website improves the performance of the website and improves the chances of success.

A great website user experience can also boost the sale of your goods or services as well as catapult your revenue insanely.

A successful website should provide a seamless user experience for visitors.

That is why good usability is needed. 

It sets your website apart from your competition.

However, good website usability is all about making it easy for your website visitors to find the information they need quickly and easily.

3 Reasons Why You Need A User-Friendly Website

#1. The Attention Span Of Your Site Visitors Is On The Decrease

From what I know about attention span, you may not get to the end of this article.

Marketers know that our attention spans are getting shorter.

The average attention span is only eight seconds now.

That is less than the attention span of your average goldfish. Sad for the human family.

You might have read that same shocking stats in Time magazine, the Telegraph, the GuardianUSA Today, the New York Times, or the National Post.

So what those scary statistics are telling us is that you have a mere eight seconds to either gain a new customer or lose out on new business to your competition.

With such statistics, you can understand why your company needs to provide a positive experience for your site visitors through a sophisticated, user-friendly website.

If you have epic content and the design process is successful, your brand grows.  

A user-friendly website ensures the user experience is effortless.

However, it is not one element of the design process that makes a website user-friendly.

But it is a combination of elements like readability, navigation, mobile optimization, and load time.

By combining these elements in the design process, a user can navigate a website and locate what is needed.  

Readability is a necessary element of a user-friendly website. 

It is synonymous with “scan-ability.” 

And that means that your website visitor should be able to quickly look for a keyword or phrase to locate an answer.

Many experts in UX or user-friendly design suggest that you keep the copy for a website short and simple.

Bullets, subheadings, plenty of white spacing, and short paragraphs make your website scannable.

Additionally, the font style across the website should be easy for most people to read.

Navigation is also important because it ensures that the content on the website is thoughtfully organized and categorized by relevance.

#2. Your Website Needs Mobile-Optimization Or Compatibility

website needs to be mobile friendly

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According to SimilarWeb’s State of Mobile Web US 2015 report, roughly 56 percent of consumer traffic to the leading US websites is now from mobile devices.

To highlight the importance of mobile optimization, Google says that 61% of website visitors are not very likely to return to a mobile site that they had trouble accessing in the first place.

Google also mentions that 40% of those disappointed website visitors would go to a competitor’s website instead. 

Are you getting the point - our competition?

And this is why mobile optimization is a requirement for companies when designing a successful website and staying relevant to their consumers.

Having a website that displays well on multiple mobile devices is a competitive digital marketing advantage.

#3. Load Time - How Fast Does Your Website Load?

Load time is the amount of time it takes for a website’s components to load. It is a highly significant factor in an overall user-friendly website experience.

It has been noted that when the time it takes to load website components is more than 4-6 seconds many website visitors click away from a website.

Not only does it deter users from learning about a business, but it also hurts a company’s Google search rankings.

A bad user experience as a result of poor website design can ultimately cripple a business.

As reported by Impact, fifty-seven percent of users say they will not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site.

And as if that were not bad enough, likely, that those same users who took off from a website with a poor user experience will head quickly to a competitor’s website.

They will still be looking for similar information and services from a website that provides them with an awesome user experience.

Get this:

The number of mobile device users around the world has grown to 5.035 billion.

And that is with the latest billion users added in just the last four years, according to new statistics released by GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of the GSMA mobile services trade group.

That means that 5 billion of the world's 7.5 billion residents now use mobile devices from smartphones to tablets to cell phones, reaching high saturation around the globe, according to the group.

With over fifteen billion eyeballs on mobile devices, you can appreciate why it is significant that your website is user-friendly.

If your website is well-optimized for mobile devices, search engines, and website visitors, it will be easy for you to cut through the incredibly noisy digital landscape.

Why should you invest in a mobile-friendly website? 

What Is A Mobile-Friendly Website?

mobile-friendly website displays correctly on mobile devices such as smartphones, iPhones, iPads, and tablets.

A mobile-friendly website also has these features:

      • It loads fast –that is important because bloated sites cost more money to access the content.
      • Texts are easy to read – keep in mind that mobile phone screens are 1/5th the size of desktop computers.
      • Make them ridiculously 4asy to navigate – menus have limited space on mobile devices.
      • Keep the scrolling to a minimum - I am not talking just vertically but also horizontally.
      • Your device-friendly or mobile responsive website does not use Flash – one great reason, Apple products do not support Flash.
  • Did you know?
  • “When Google looks at how to decide which ads to feature in its Google AdWords program, it will consider how well a site is tailored for mobile devices, things like whether it works well for touch, is made for smaller screens, has shorter load times and avoids Flash.” 
  • (Source ) 

4 Reasons Why You Need A Mobile-Friendly Website

mobile device use on the increase

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Most people are increasingly accessing the internet using multiple mobile devices.

As it stands today in the global digital landscape, it is safe to assume that most website visitors are not using a traditional desktop or laptop computer.

You guessed right. 

Most website visitors are using a tablet, smartphone, or any other fancy handheld device to access online content

Many decision-makers have been quick to respond to transitioning their company websites to mobile-friendly formats.

However, some decision-makers are still indecisive on whether to transition to a mobile-friendly website or not.

Why?

Perhaps, they have not realized how not having a mobile-friendly website affects their bottom line.

But this information applies to most companies and businesses that are marketing their products and services online.

So, you can dive into Google's mobile-friendly test, to see right now whether or not your website is mobile-friendly.

  • Here are the 4 Reasons why your website should be mobile-friendly.
  • # 1. You Get Increased Tons Of Mobile Visitors
  • Since Google labels websites that are optimized for mobile, as "mobile-friendly" in its mobile search results, you can appreciate why having a mobile-friendly website is to your business benefit.
  • Moreover, not having a mobile-friendly website can impact your website’s click-through rate (CTR) in a very significant and negative way.
  • Just imagine that a mobile user performs a search with her mobile device, and four of the top five results that come up have a "mobile-friendly" designation next to them.
  • As you guessed, all else being equal, she would choose the four results that Google confirms as being mobile-friendly. You would, too.
  • If you are in doubt as to how to find out if your website is mobile-friendly or not, Google provides a tool that allows you to test if your website is mobile-friendly. Why don't you check it out? 

# 2. You Get Higher Mobile Rankings 

It should be of interest to you that on April 21, 2018, Google rolled out a worldwide mobile-friendly algorithm update.

This new mobile-friendly algorithm will have a “significant impact” on mobile search results for mobile searchers globally.

In other words, if your website does not pass Google’s mobile-friendly test, in all likelihood, Google will send you fewer mobile search visitors after April 21.

At the moment, Google penalizes websites that are not mobile-friendly in their organic search results.

This ensures that mobile-friendly websites that provide a satisfying user experience rank higher than those that are not mobile-friendly.

Take a look at this quote from a Google blog post, when it announced the new "mobile-friendly" labels:

"We see these labels as a first step in helping mobile users to have a better mobile web experience.

We are also experimenting with using the mobile-friendly criteria as a ranking signal."

# 3. Increase In Revenue

rsponsive design leads to more sales

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Google’s Zineb Ait Bahajji from the Webmaster Trends team was quoted as saying at SMX Munich, that the upcoming mobile-friendly ranking algorithm that will launch on April 21st will have more of an impact on Google’s search results than the Google Panda update and the Google Penguin update did.

It is believed that about 50% of all searches done on Google are on mobile devices. 

If you don't have a mobile-friendly website now, your business will suffer.

Besides, not having a mobile-friendly website at a time when so many searchers are using mobile devices to find products and services, is handing over all your mobile visitors to your competition.

# 4. Customers Want A Mobile-Friendly Website

The development of your mobile site should be determined by the kinds of products and services your business provides.

Since mobile devices sport relatively small screens and a different way of interacting with page content, simply shrinking your text into the device’s screen won’t give customers that warm and fuzzy feeling about your site.

Customers want to know if you’re open, how to contact you, and where to get more information about your products.

It also helps if they can purchase your products without being asked to download an application.

You’re more likely to complete a sale if you empower your customer to do so on the go, perhaps right after seeing a relevant, engaging advertisement for your best product.

What Are You Going To Do?

Make sure your organization has a successful SEO strategy in 2015 with a mobile-friendly website, and benefit from more click-throughs, higher rankings, and most importantly, increased revenue.

If you are interested in building a website that is responsible and responsive, please note:

Why Google Wants Mobile-Friendly Websites 

As a global thought leader and a search engine juggernaut, Google has seen the business benefits and beauty of having close to three-quarters of its audience using mobile devices to get information on the internet.

Google wants you to give that audience the ultimate mind-blowing mobile user experience when it sends them to your website. 

In the cornbread language, Google wants your website to be mobile-friendly. 

Google is responding to its audience, are you responding to yours?

More People Are Using Mobile Devices For Internet Search

lots of people using mobile devices

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When you combine how affordable smartphones have become, with the global availability of 3G and 4G networks, you can appreciate why the use of mobile devices is skyrocketing.

Though the growth of smartphones in developed countries seems to have reached a threshold, users in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, are driving the boost and boom in mobile device use.

According to the report done by eMarketer titled Smartphone Users Worldwide 2012 – 2017, the mobile phone market which was 4.08 billion users globally in 2012 grew by 6.2% in 2013 to 4.33 billion users.

Further, the mobile global market is projected to grow by 5.1% to 4.55 billion users in 2014 and then by 4.7% to 4.77 billion users.

The total mobile phone users are predicted to reach 5.13 billion users globally by 2017. Wow!

Google Prefers Mobile-Friendly Sites To Those That Are Not

Google prefers websites that are friendly to mobile users. 

Because websites that are not mobile-friendly, annoy visitors. And that’s bad business for you and Google.

Interestingly, today, consumers are doing more on mobile devices, including shopping and product research than they used to do on their desktop computers.

Consumers want content that meets their on-the-go needs. 

In our digital world, when consumers want information, they have way too many mobile devices to access that information anytime and anywhere - especially when they’re on the go.

This applies to their web browsing experiences on mobile. 

So Google took a deeper look at their users’ expectations and reactions towards their site experiences on their mobile devices. The result?

Google hired Sterling Research and Smith Geiger, independent market research firms to do a study for them on the subject: What Users Want Most From Mobile Sites Today. 

It should be of interest to you that the study found that 72 percent of mobile users say it’s important to them that websites are mobile-friendly.

Sadly, 96 percent of them have visited a site that doesn’t work well on their mobile device.

Almost 75% of respondents said they are more likely to revisit a mobile-friendly site.

Users are five times more likely to abandon the task they are trying to complete if the site isn’t optimized for mobile use.

On the other hand, 79% of the people surveyed said that they will go back to search and try to find another site to meet their needs.

Mobile-Friendly Websites Turn Visitors Into Customers

mobile friendly websites get more customers

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There is no doubt about it, the fastest way to tap into the HUGE mobile customers is by having a well-crafted mobile-friendly website.

When your website visitors get a "wow" mobile experience, they are more likely to buy a product or service.

Here are other interesting findings of a mobile-friendly website:

  • 1. 74% of people say they’re more likely to return to that site in the future.
  • 2. 67% of mobile users say they’re more likely to buy a product or service if the site is mobile-friendly.

Websites That Are Not Mobile-Friendly, Benefit The Competition

As more mobile users go out of their ways to find and engage with mobile-friendly websites, brands need a mobile-friendly website.

For those companies that are still sitting on the fence, their competition would benefit from their lack of response.

Check out this information:

1. 61% of users said that they would quickly go to a mobile-friendly site if the site they're on is not. 

2. 79% of people who don’t like what they find on one site will go back and search for another site.

3. 50% of people said that even if they like doing business with a company, that they will use them less often if the company's website is not mobile-friendly.

Websites That Are Unfriendly To Mobile Users Hurt Brand Reputation

mobile friendly mistakes

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According to that same study, it turns out that a company or business that does not have a mobile-friendly website loses more than casual visitors from a bad mobile experience.

A website that is not friendly to mobile users, leaves mobile visitors frustrated and annoyed.

Those negative emotional feelings hurt a brand. 

48% of visitors say that they feel frustrated and annoyed when they get to a website that is not mobile-friendly.

36% of those visitors said they felt like they’ve wasted their time by visiting those sites. 

52% of visitors said that a bad mobile experience made them less likely to engage with a company.

  • 48% said that if a site did not work well on their smartphones, it made them feel like the company did not care about their business

April 21, 2015, Google Started To Reward Mobile-Friendly Websites 

Google started using mobile-friendly as a ranking factor since April 21, 2015 (http://bit.ly/MobileFriendlyAnnouncement).

In other words, if all the other SEO factors are equal, Google will be moving the mobile-friendly search results way to the top of their search results.

Here's what to do if you want Google to show love to your website.

First, go to Google's official tool. You will find this page full of tons of great resources for getting your website up-to-speed and mobile-friendly.

After your analysis, and you find out that your website is not mobile-friendly, please contact us for a consultation.

Is Your Website Committing Any Of These User-Unfriendly Mistakes?

After that, we promote the website massively and ruthlessly, using social media marketing and management strategies.

Need to get your brand or website running quickly? We will put your business in flight with an agency-quality brand and website pretty quickly!

Our team will write a winning copy for your mobile-friendly website.

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