Introduction
As smartphones become cheaper and more capable, their market share continues to increase. At the same time, the percentage of people who use a computer has actually been decreasing slightly over the last five years.
The same data also shows that 65% of people access the internet at least as often via their smartphone as via computer.
Unfortunately, many businesses of all sizes still have websites which are not optimised for mobile devices. This makes them miss out on potential customers as all but the most dedicated users are put off by the sheer awkwardness of using a desktop website on a mobile.
The Google factor
This has become such a huge problem that in 2015 Google began actively penalising unoptimised websites in search results, and this year they’ve announced that they will further increase the effect of mobile-friendliness on search results.
These are not just whimsical decisions – Google pride themselves on delivering the most relevant search results and they realised that directing mobile users to unoptimised sites went against that mission.
This means that businesses without mobile-friendly websites are leaving an ever-increasing proportion of the market out in the cold and restricting themselves to a shrinking audience, effectively leaving money on the table.
Conclusion
At this point, desktop-only websites are only viable for businesses who have absolutely no competition and little regard for their visitors. For most other businesses, operating in competitive sectors in a difficult financial climate, they are tantamount to shutting up shop.
This is the first in a series of articles on the importance of optimising your website for mobile devices. In part 2, we will explore what makes a website mobile-friendly. Sign up below and we’ll drop you a line as soon as it’s published 🙂