Mobile sites still an afterthought?

Its 2014 and many organisations are reporting mobile site traffic exceeding desktop traffic. And yet as I browse the web from my mobile, I’m still noticing a lot of really bad mobile sites. Mobile looks like it’s still an afterthought for a lot of companies, despite many statistics showing mobile dominance on the web. I often hear clients saying “Let’s think about mobile in the next phase”. This is not acceptable anymore and a bad mobile experience may lose you those customers. Bring your site up to scratch this year!

 

Revisit your SEO strategy

When we talk SEO, we really mean “Google Search Optimisation”. Here are the guidelines they recommend. Essentially, they want you to use a responsive site. One site, one URL, one HTML, for all devices. It’s the CSS that will determine what the user will see and how they see it. This makes it easy for the google bot to index your site, and therefore easier for customers to locate you through a search. Read a few of our other blogs on responsive design (here, here and here) and make the switch.

 

Consolidate your content

I’ve been working on a particular project where the site is essentially two different sites, one for mobile and one for desktop. It is a real pain to double check the copy twice, especially since 90% of the mobile and desktop content is identical. Its double the work for no extra returns. Once you consolidate, you’ll be better for it. Less work for you, less work for search engines to index. The minor differences between mobile and desktop content can essentially be worked around.

 

Drive traffic  to your new site

Once you’re all done, you need to get visitors to see your site. It could be a simple website refresh announced in your newsletter or blog, or you could make a competition or rebranding event. Go social! Social media is one of the cheapest, fastest and most effective ways to create awareness. Encourage traffic to hit your new mobile site when its ready.