Website Design Myth #12 – Having a Mobile Optimized Site Is a Waste

"My current website is perfectly fine. I don't need to provide a mobile version to my visitors." In this article we will discuss why you need to have a mobile version of your site.
Sunday, October 20th, 2013

Why a Mobile Site?

For nearly 20 years, if you wanted to visit a website you needed to use a computer. As a result websites were built to be displayed on large screens. Additionally as screens got bigger and computers became faster, media content such as photos and video became larger in file size. Internet connections got faster to keep up with the large file sizes and more websites started to utilize Flash. With the introduction of smartphones, traditional websites suddenly experienced problems.

  1. Small Screen Size: While smartphones can display a webpage, the traditional website layout for a computer screen makes it hard for visitors to view the site easily. Yes you can zoom in for a better look but zooming in to read text is not user friendly. Additionally large photos and content do not fit well on the small screens.
  2. No Flash Content: Devices such as the iPhone or iPad can’t display flash content so any website that uses flash for a design or for a video will not display on these devices.
  3. Data Size / Download Speed: Because websites for computer displays use bigger graphics, the file sizes are much larger. This is not a problem for users on WiFi but for those connected to a Cell Network, this causes your site to load slowly. Additionally visitors with small data plans can spend a good portion of their data allotment just on your website.

Where a Mobile Site Comes In

A mobile optimized website tackles all of these problems by:

  • Providing graphics and text sized correctly for the device’s screen size. Visitors won’t have to zoom to navigate the site. Additionally the navigation of the size uses buttons that allow a visitor to easily tap to navigate the site.
  • Content on a mobile site, including video, are all presented in a non-flash format which allows the content to be viewed on any mobile device regardless of the brand.
  • Mobile sites use smaller graphics that fit the screen size, thus the file size is also smaller. Large multimedia files are offered as optional so visitors can choose how much data they use.

Today it is very important that you offer a mobile optimized website for your visitors. Current estimates are that by 2015, mobile devices will surpass computer use and the primary source of internet traffic. The question then becomes is your website mobile optimized?

Advertising Solutions, Inc. offers mobile website development services using white-hat solutions that conform to the Google Mobile Development guidelines. Give us a call today to see what we can do for you.

About The Author

Advertising Solutions, Inc.

Advertising Solutions, Inc. is a Professional Website Design and Internet Marketing Company with over 25 years experience in website design and 35 years experience in marketing and advertising. Their skilled internet marketing experts provide affordable marketing services for businesses big and small.