If you’ve spent any amount of time trying to access websites that are not responsive, you know first-hand just how frustrating this can be. Hopefully, if you have a website of your own, you’ve taken the time to conduct usability testing and ensure that your design is as responsive as possible across all devices, including tablets and smartphones. Making sure that your site is compatible with the AMP project can help optimize the loading times of your site’s individual pages. Specifically, the AMP definition is a project launched by Google and Twitter that is designed to strip down a site’s “traditional” HTML coding in favor of a more streamlined version to maximize speed on mobile.
Is any of this sounding foreign to you? If so, then your site may not be as responsive as you might think, and you could be losing money as a result.
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More Visitors Are Using Mobile Than Ever Before
Start by considering the fact that, in 2015, mobile usage surpassed desktop usage for the first time in history—and this trend shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. This means that more and more of your website’s visitors are using their mobile devices to access your site than desktops and laptops. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, your user experience is suffering. Visitors may come to your site and become frustrated by slow page-load times and a lack of responsive design. As a result, they aren’t likely to spend much time on your site, and in fact, they may never return again. Whether you run an eCommerce site or a site that relies on ad revenue, it’s not difficult to see how a decrease in traffic can lead to a loss of profits.
Non-Responsive Design Hurts Your Site’s SEO
In addition to affecting your user experience, keep in mind that a non-responsive design can actually hurt your SEO as well. In fact, Google may even decide to de-index sites that do not pass their Google mobile-friendly test. This test looks for factors that detract from responsive design, such as:
- use of Flash
- small font sizes
- touch elements too close together
On the other hand, sites that have more responsive design may have better SEO rankings. If you’re relying on SEO to any extent to increase your website traffic and drive conversions, it’s easy to see how a lack of responsive design could cause you to be losing money. In this sense, having a mobile-friendly website is very much a competitive advantage in today’s world.
Mobile Shopping is an Impulsive Act
Finally, keep in mind that if you’re selling any kind of product or service directly through your page (such as with an eCommerce site), a lack of mobile-friendly design might as well be the final nail in the coffin for your business. This is especially true if your business is run exclusively online (in other words, you don’t have a physical brick-and-mortar store).
Because mobile shopping is such an impulsive act, you could be missing out on purchases from your mobile users because of a lack of mobile-friendliness and a positive user experience. By converting your site to a more responsive design, you may be surprised to see how many more online sales you’re able to make. Using a tool like Google Analytics will actually allow you to track statistics on how many of your site visitors are using mobile devices, so be sure to start using these kinds of tools if you’re not already.
A lack of responsive design can cost you money in a number of ways, including:
- poor user experience
- reduced SEO ranking
- lack of mobile shoppers
For more assistance in converting your site to a responsive design, contact Ballantine today. We offer website development and our experts know exactly what your site needs for success.
I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
