Nancy Roblewsky
December 25, 2017

You’re losing money if you ignore customers on mobile devices

If you haven’t checked how your website works on a mobile device (smart phone, tablet), now is the time.  Many business owners are so busy they don’t stop to check if their website is functional on these devices-but they should.  If potential customers on mobile devices are searching for a service or product and the menu doesn’t work or navigation is a nightmare, do you really think they’re going to stay?  I doubt it.

Traffic from mobile devices

No matter what type of business you have, a growing percentage of your traffic is coming from a smart phone or tablet.  If you own a restaurant, it’s likely that 50% or more of your traffic is from a mobile device, which makes sense since many people out and about might be looking for a restaurant nearby.

Whether 25% or 50% of your traffic is from mobile devices, it doesn’t matter.   Each visitor to your website is a potential sale and you have no idea if it’s a big or small one though each sale is important and can lead to more business.

The smart move is to treat each as a potential customer and if they have problems with your website when they try to access it, you can be certain they will leave without contacting you.  It doesn’t take a genius to see this is a real problem and one you need to attend to right away.

What is responsive design?

Responsive design is the term used to describe a website which changes or flexes to fit the size of the screen on which the website is being displayed.  That’s why it’s called “responsive” as it responds to the screen size.  FYI-many people also refer to responsive design as mobile friendly.

As you can imagine, your website won’t look the same on all devices but it will work.  The real issue with mobile devices is making sure the website can be easily read and the navigation is working so visitors can cruise around your site with ease.

How much is lost sales costing you?

If they can’t read the website content, the buttons don’t work or they can’t get beyond the home page, you’ve lost the sale and that’s a problem as you have no idea how big of a sale you’ve lost. Having your website built with responsive design is the only way to guarantee every single person visiting your website will have a great experience.

While there’s no guarantee everyone visiting your website will become a customer, making sure it’s functional and looks professional is a great start.  No business owner likes to lose sales, especially when it’s easily preventable so take a few minutes to check how well your website works for customers on mobile devices.  It will definitely be time well spent.

Published: December 25, 2017 • Last Updated: March 12, 2020