Benefits Of Having A Responsive Website

Websites are the main focus of the internet, whether it be Facebook, Google, or YouTube. There have been billions of websites on the internet since its conception. Big tech companies are all working together to bring a better mobile experience to website visitors. More people are using their mobile devices than ever before, statistics show that this will increase. Though people do love using their desktops, people are constantly on their mobile phones looking for the latest information. There are many benefits of having a mobile responsive website as Greg explains further in this article:

 

People Can See Websites From Anywhere

The best thing about mobile devices is that you can bring the device with you wherever you want. Viewing the internet is easier than ever with free Wifi spots. Companies literally want you to use their Wifi with your mobile device to collect user data. Companies can figure out if you want Starbucks Coffee or how likely you are to purchase a product by knowing your behavior patterns via location and purchases.

Mobile Phones allow you to check into your favorite places and show friends new places you have visited. This helps small businesses grow because now they might have a new potential customer thanks to your advertising. Even before you visit a small business, you can view information about the business on your mobile device. This is why small businesses need to improve websites for mobile responsiveness. How is someone going to contact or visit your store when they can’t even access the website?

Building a simple website that works with mobile phones improves sales, and people from different areas that are visiting are potential customers. When you have a website on the internet, you automatically increase sales because people are aware of your business. Say a person from Florida is visiting Long Island, they can search the area and find a product you might be offering. For example, if your a pizza shop and in the top results, you just gained a customer from Florida. Yes, Long Island does have some really good pizza too, as a webmaster, I can vouch for all the pizza chains.

 

Optimize Your Website For Mobile Phones

Imagine someone is searching for your website, and now they found the website. They go to your website and are able to click on your telephone number, this instantly sends a phone call to you. By optimizing code to allow this clickable link, people can reach you faster. The same goes for clickable email, your phone will open the email browser and place your email. This saves time for the customer, instead of having to memorize the information and manually contact, the code/link does it for them. Small optimizations like these can be the difference between someone leaving the website or getting in contact.

These small tweaks allow customers to easily access information about products or services while making contact easier. Customers need to have multiple ways of getting in contact with the service or product that you provide. Google prefers when a website is optimized for speed too and mobile websites tend to load quicker. This has been mentioned by Google before that speed is one of the largest factors when it comes to ranking on search engines.

Let’s make sure the website has great content and delivers results with speed in mind. Even small things like changing image formats or decreasing image file sizes are going to make the website load quicker. Reduce the amount of javascript, another great way to reduce the speed. Always look for better ways to simplify the website and bring the information faster. Think of Google, it’s simple and delivers a ton of valuable information, be similar to Google.

 

People Are Searching Using Mobile Phones

The desktop is still a popular choice but mobile phones are becoming the number one way to use the internet.

Websites like Facebook understand that mobile devices are becoming more important. With some smart investments like purchasing Instagram and investing in startups, Facebook understands the power of the mobile phone. Facebook Messenger has become a requirement and some people prefer the wifi app compared to text messaging.

It wouldn’t be surprising if people ditch their desktops in the near future in exchange for tablets and mobile phones. Desktops are great for having keyboards but now mobile phones can have the option of adding keyboards. Mobile phone apps are becoming more popular as companies mimic their websites to these apps. People are using apps, and are willing to pay for the use of the app. Dating websites are a good example of when a company knows they can reach people with apps or by a website. Though the desktop won’t disappear anytime soon, you can definitely see the popularity dwindling.

 

View The Website From Two Different Versions

There should be a desktop version of the website and a mobile version of the website, even better…add a tablet version too. Your website should be customized to each type of phone screen, for example, an iPhone 7 or even a smaller screen. The responsive website must be fluid and fit the phone’s screen or it will look off. The better the website looks on someone’s phone, the more likely they are going to stay on your website. If they can easily read your information and contact you, then you might have a sale.

Personally, I love viewing websites from a Desktop because I can see the full version of the website. Some people like viewing the website on mobile and seeing the most important information displayed. Personally, strive to find a balance, websites that are viewed in Desktop offer a “bigger picture” type of feeling. I feel you can actually miss more information on the mobile website unless you clarify sections or make the menu prominent.

Websites can be optimized for tablets as well, most tablets take the desktop version. Sometimes a tablet will take the mobile version, depending on the size of the tablet and the browser. In Divi 3.0, you can customize your website theme to be viewed on Desktop, Mobile, or Tablet. Some themes allow all three, and other themes allow two.

 

Mobile Will Surpass Desktop

Cell phones are still hot on the market and what I mean by that is: cell phones are going to keep on selling. People are more likely to purchase a cell phone rather than a brand new laptop. Cell phones vary in size and people can save battery charging time by using their cell phones. The average laptop lasts 4-8 hours, your cell phone is going to last longer, for example, 10-18 hours. Plus technology is allowing cell phones to have better batteries and have backup battery covers. The mobile phone is convenient, making viewing websites fast and easy. People will save time and money using a mobile phone, they can ask Google Maps for directions when they want to visit the physical store.

It looks like the price of mobile phones is dipping over the years with the exception of Apple phones and high-end galaxy phones. Another thing noticeable is laptops are being designed to look more like tablets and mobile devices, previous versions of laptops were bulkier. Laptops are being designed to be lighter, last longer, and resemble some qualities of the mobile phone.

 

What Is Next For Mobile Marketing?

Have you been getting text messages that look a lot more like email spam? Well, these new text messages are becoming the new type of marketing on the mobile phone as companies scramble to sell their cell phone to marketing companies. Maybe someone should develop a text message spam software because with the popularity of cell phones and internet usage comes this disbenefit. Phishing scams are making their way onto cell phones, and cell phones are more vulnerable to hackings. Wifi networks give information to companies and allow these companies access to phones, we literally agree to terms of services when we use Wifi spots. Usually, one of the terms of service is sharing location and small information about you that might be useful to the companies allowing the use of “Free Wifi”.

Email Marketing is always going to be a part of mobile marketing, people want to check their emails on smartphones. A lot of users have Microsoft Outlook and Gmail installed on their mobile devices. Companies will try to gather email account information and make you a part of their subscription feed. Website owners should be trying to collect emails with software like MailChimp because you can send email updates. When people forget about your website, you can email past customers or visitors with special company incentives. Collect email addresses with a subscription plugin, I highly recommend MailChimp for email marketing.

 

How Much Does A Responsive Website Cost?

A website should always be responsive so that when someone looks at the website through a mobile phone, they will see a fluid-looking website (attractive + responsive website). WordPress websites have themes that allow the website to be viewed from a mobile device like a smartphone. Long Island Webmaster charges $600 currently for a website that is responsive and designed with mobile in mind, we want our websites to be mobile-friendly. Most traffic comes from mobile devices and most Americans are using their mobile devices to view the internet.

If you do not have a mobile-friendly website then you are basically hurting your website. People want to view your website from their mobile phone without having to see a desktop version, Rent Greg can make sure that your website is mobile-friendly and that people with smartphones can see the best version of your website. Rent Greg offers responsive WordPress websites for a great price, and we can calculate/estimate the cost of building your website if you need added features.

 

Voice Search Is Coming!

Mobile phones have the option now to ask Google to search for something with voice. Having a voice search allows people to drive their cars and ask Google questions while multi-tasking. Alexa is another example of how Amazon is using Voice Search, you can ask Alexa questions. Alexa delivers answers and personally, RentGreg.com does use Alexa from time to time. Voice search is great for asking about the weather, the news, or making appointments. People must understand that they are already using voice search in their lives with mobile devices (smartphones).

Voice search will continue to improve with companies like Google improving upon research in the last few years. Mobile phones are using voice search, as well as GPS systems, and computer systems. Companies have been using voice search technology for years and now people can finally use this technology.