One of the difficult things about website design is the pace at which design trends change. Just when you get your website developed and designed in a way that meets current design trends and appeals to consumers, the trends change and your website begins to look like something that hasn't gotten the love that it should. Don't believe me, then just take a look at some of the websites of local establishments in your home town... a quick perusing of just a few of those will undoubtedly yield some website designs that just look ridiculous to your eyes. The funny thing is, when those websites were initially created, they were a work of art!
The rate of change in the web design marketplace dictates that a website needs to be updated at least every 4 years, if not sooner, in order to maintain a fresh look that appeals to current design trends. Many times these changes have to do with aesthetics, color schemes, shapes, fonts, etc... just your basic overall look and feel of the website. But sometimes, these changes in design trends are monumental, and require a complete re-tooling the website design and structure to comply. And that brings me to the reality of mobile friendly websites
Other than that bizarre uncle Bill that lives in the highlands of Montana and still communicates with a Ham radio... everyone has a Smart Phone. And as the screen sizes have increased with each new iteration of the various types of smart phone, more and more consumers are doing most of their website browsing on their phone. In a recent test conducted by our office, we found that upwards of 70% of the website traffic that we generated took place on a smart phone. That's huge!! That means that 7 out of 10 consumers are now using their smart phone as one of their primary means of doing research and shopping. If you don't have a mobile friendly website, you can just about guarantee that 7 out of 10 visitors to your website will immediately leave your website.
In addition to the obvious detriment to your business mentioned above, Google has now changed their search engine ranking algorithm to give preference to mobile friendly websites. Even if you previously had a very high google ranking in searches related to your field, you will begin to see that ranking fall if your website is not mobile friendly.
Duh! I think the answer is obvious... if you don't have a mobile friendly website, (in the words of the great Woody) GET ONE! This will likely require a complete rebuild of your website in order to have a website that is optimized for all devices., but in the end it's well worth the investment. The alternative is to just sit back and watch your online prowess slowly wither away to nothing. Unless of course your online business specializes in selling HAM radios... then you'll always have a dedicated force of mountain loyalists who don't have smart phones.
