Trend 3 | Not Mobile Friendly, Mobile First!

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2014 was a tipping point for mobile internet usage: it was the first year that mobile exceeded fixed internet access and marked a milestone in mobile development. The importance of mobile is undeniable. Googles ‘Mobilegeddon’ update, which made responsive mobile pages a ranking factor even for desktop search results, proved that the tech magnate sees the future of internet development in mobile devices, not stationary computers.

Our mobile phones accompany us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They record our preferences, location, social interactions and habits, making them an undeniably valuable tool for any brand. Research showed that 75% of money spend on social traffic is wasted, if no mobile friendly site is available. Mobile friendly, that is an adaptive (multiple different layouts for different screen sizes) or responsive design (fluid design that uses the same layout in different sizes for different screen sizes) has become essential. Experts argue, however, that adapting the layout of a website is no longer enough: users digest content differently on a mobile device than on a stationary computer, and therefore, content should be adapted for optimal user experience for each specific device. A vital part of this shift in understanding consumer needs is the importance of creating dedicated, functional apps for smart devices.

M-Commerce becomes mainstream

Online shopping on mobile devices is becoming mainstream. In digitally savvy UK, mobile commerce made up almost a third of all e-commerce spending in 2015. Apart from purchasing directly from their smartphone, the mobile device also plays and important passive role in influencing consumer choices: Users use their phone to search for locations, research products in store or share product photos to come to a decision; making it ever more important to have mobile optimized websites.

Think in Micro-Moments

As our smartphones are our loyal companion and in our jeans pocket at all times, when optimizing for mobile, we should keep the distinct moment in mind we make use of our phones: What are the times that we get out our phone? What is the user looking for in those micro-moments? A product, a review of a service, a how-to-tutorial or maybe simply directions – those are the moments in which people quickly get out their phones, often right in the middle of a different task. According to a Google report, “Of smartphone users, 82% consult their phones while they’re standing in a store deciding which product to buy. One in 10 of those end up buying a different product than they had planned.”

Location Targeting

The GPS function on smartphone has enabled companies to collect location data and movement patterns of their customers in order to be able to target them with geographically fitted advertisements, for example of shops or promotions in their area. Those advertisements do not only pop up in the Google search results sidebar, but also as native ads in our Facebook and Instagram feeds, ever present and tempting the user.

In 2016, mobile is still going strong: eMarketer projects spending on mobile advertisements to rise from $8.4 billion in 2012 to almost 37$ billion in 2016 – Those numbers alone should be a wakeup call: if you have not made a move on your mobile site, do it now!

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