Getting online using your smartphone is now more common than ever – and it’s not just for Facebook. It’s true even for searching for businesses and shopping online; mobile now accounts for more than half of all online sales in the UK (The Drum.com, 2016).
Using a mobile device to access the internet isn’t just for young consumers – people of all ages now use smartphones and tablets to keep in touch with friends and browse the web. Whoever your customer base is, it’s likely a large number of them will be using a mobile device to access information about you on your website.
For potential customers, there are some very big turn-offs when it comes to viewing business websites on a mobile device. Here’s our guide to the three things a mobile customer can’t stand on your website, and how to solve them.
1) A website that isn’t mobile-friendly
If your website isn’t easy to use when viewing it on a mobile device, your potential customer will simply go back and look at a website which is easy to use – like a competitor’s. Mobile device screens are a lot smaller than a laptop or desktop, and people have to use fingers and thumb to scroll, rather than a mouse.
This means what might look good and work well on a regular computer screen isn’t going to be easy for mobile customers to use. Some common problems include:
To solve this problem, invest in a refresh of your existing website so it’s mobile-friendly, or even responsive. You can read more about the benefits of responsive websites here with our guide Winning More Customers With Mobile.
2) A website that takes too long to load
Along with a website which isn’t mobile-friendly, a person using a mobile device to access your site won’t like it if your site takes ages to load. This is because when smartphone users access the internet, they’re often out and about and using mobile data. This can be a lot slower than WiFi (not to mention more expensive) and in crowded areas it can slow down even more.
It’s therefore essential your website is quick to load. Having a responsive or mobile-friendly website will help with this, as these sites are designed to ‘respond’ to the device your visitor is using to give them the best (and fastest) experience.
There are a few ways to make sure your website isn’t too slow to load, which you can start to work on today even if you don’t have a responsive site:
Remember, nearly 75% of people using a website will abandon it if it takes more than five seconds to load (Loadstorm, 2014), so it’s important to make sure yours is quick! See how your website performs here.
3) A website that doesn’t have the right information
In 2014, Google conducted research into what customers searching for businesses online were looking for. The top three results were business hours, directions and the business address. If you don’t include this information on your website, your visitors won’t be happy.
One of the reasons mobile consumers might want this information is because they’re on the move and ready to buy, so want to know these essential details straight away. Having them displayed prominently on your website – on every page if you need to – will make sure you don’t lose any sales.
This is good practice for any business website, whether your audience are looking at it via a mobile device or at home. Without this information, they won’t know whether you can give them what they want, where they want it and when they want it, which could result in a lost opportunity.
Making sure your business website and marketing is ready for mobile consumers will make sure you’re ready for a future in which mobile internet access is the ‘new normal’. Take a look at our guide and other articles for more mobile help:
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