Building a Mobile Friendly Website

1. Building a Mobile Friendly Website Building a Mobile Friendly WebsiteExecutive SummaryA mobile friendly website will make your business more accessible to customers andprospects. This guide will outline why you need a mobile friendly website and how toimplement one for your business. Read this brief 5-page guide and follow the action plan to getstarted.Why is this Important?Mobile friendly websites, also known as responsive websites, represent a new movement inweb design and refers to the ease in which a user is able to access a website using a portabledevice such as a smart phone or tablet. Examples of optimization for portable devices includedesigns that are developed to ensure minimal scrolling, quick to load graphics, and clearnavigation. The idea is simple: Mobile friendly designs ensure that your company’s websitecan be viewed as easily as possible whether a customer is accessing the site via a laptop,tablet, or smart phone.According to a recent Google survey, 72% of mobile users said web accessibility on a mobilephone was important to them. However, only 26% of small businesses currently have a mobilefriendly website. As more people turn to portable devices in their daily lives, the importance ofhosting a website that can be accessed on one of these devices increases dramatically.What is a Mobile Friendly Website?Mobile friendly websites refer to the ease in which a user is able to access a website using aportable device such as a smartphone or tablet. These optimized sites use a minimalist designin order to guide the customer to the appropriate information without distracting them withfeatures that may not be optimal for a smaller screen, and that can eat up data and slowperformance. © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

2. An example of how a website may be viewed on various Internet devices:In today’s market, 24/7 internet accessibility is more important than ever before, and thisaccess regularly occurs through mobile devices. Potential customers researching yourbusiness may not give you a second chance if their first impression of your mobile site doesnot meet expectations. In fact, 46% of consumers surveyed in a recent Gomez surveysuggested that they would be unlikely to return to a mobile site if it did not work properly duringtheir last visit.Your business only has a few seconds to grab the attention of a prospect, and if it is loadingslowly because of large graphics, too many tables, and/or videos that will not play, it is likely aprospect will move on.Mobile Friendly Website Benefits  Expanded access to customers for your business - When your company creates a mobile friendly website, it can reach more people than ever before because there are users who prefer to access the Internet from mobile devices.  Increased brand recognition and customer appreciation - More than just increasing your customer base and profit margin, you also increase the appreciation consumers have for your business. © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved An example of how a website may be viewed on various Internet devices:In today’s market, 24/7 internet accessibility is more important than ever before, and thisaccess regularly occurs through mobile devices. Potential customers researching yourbusiness may not give you a second chance if their first impression of your mobile site doesnot meet expectations. In fact, 46% of consumers surveyed in a recent Gomez surveysuggested that they would be unlikely to return to a mobile site if it did not work properly duringtheir last visit.Your business only has a few seconds to grab the attention of a prospect, and if it is loadingslowly because of large graphics, too many tables, and/or videos that will not play, it is likely aprospect will move on.Mobile Friendly Website Benefits  Expanded access to customers for your business - When your company creates a mobile friendly website, it can reach more people than ever before because there are users who prefer to access the Internet from mobile devices.  Increased brand recognition and customer appreciation - More than just increasing your customer base and profit margin, you also increase the appreciation consumers have for your business. © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved

3.  Matching customer expectations - In todays’ market, consumers expect results, and they expect them fast. This is why you are not only potentially losing new customers by not having a mobile website, but you are also risking losing current customers who are unable to access your web content on the go. Being accessible to your customers should be your #1 priority as a business.Action PlanNow that you understand what a mobile friendly website is and why it is important to yourbusiness, follow these simple steps below to get started in creating a new and mobile friendlywebsite for your business. We also recommend you take our Mobile Marketing ReadinessAssessment to assess your preparedness for a mobile marketing initiative. 1. Display the most important information at the top. The main page of your mobile site should include your business name, contact information, address, and a description of your business. Remove “Contact Us” buttons that bring visitors to other page or to an information request form. 2. Remove any Flash-based videos. Many mobile devices do not support Flash, and because of this, you should remove Flash from your mobile website and your main desktop website. Flash videos require large amounts of bandwidth and eat into your customers’ data plans when accessed from mobile devices. Your customers will not want to visit your website on their mobile phones if they know it is going to cost them money. Flash videos, because of their large file size, slow the downloading process which can potentially discourage your customers from using your site. 3. Make information easy to read on a small screen. No person enjoys squinting at a desktop or mobile device to read smaller text. Remove any small fonts or fancy lettering and replace these with bold, clear, and large fonts that are easy to read. 4. Remove excess information. Information about contests, extra videos, and staff biographies can be kept for desktop websites. The purpose of your mobile site is to provide the basic information that your customers will be looking for. This information should be made quick and easy to reach. © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved  Matching customer expectations - In todays’ market, consumers expect results, and they expect them fast. This is why you are not only potentially losing new customers by not having a mobile website, but you are also risking losing current customers who are unable to access your web content on the go. Being accessible to your customers should be your #1 priority as a business.Action PlanNow that you understand what a mobile friendly website is and why it is important to yourbusiness, follow these simple steps below to get started in creating a new and mobile friendlywebsite for your business. We also recommend you take our Mobile Marketing ReadinessAssessment to assess your preparedness for a mobile marketing initiative. 1. Display the most important information at the top. The main page of your mobile site should include your business name, contact information, address, and a description of your business. Remove “Contact Us” buttons that bring visitors to other page or to an information request form. 2. Remove any Flash-based videos. Many mobile devices do not support Flash, and because of this, you should remove Flash from your mobile website and your main desktop website. Flash videos require large amounts of bandwidth and eat into your customers’ data plans when accessed from mobile devices. Your customers will not want to visit your website on their mobile phones if they know it is going to cost them money. Flash videos, because of their large file size, slow the downloading process which can potentially discourage your customers from using your site. 3. Make information easy to read on a small screen. No person enjoys squinting at a desktop or mobile device to read smaller text. Remove any small fonts or fancy lettering and replace these with bold, clear, and large fonts that are easy to read. 4. Remove excess information. Information about contests, extra videos, and staff biographies can be kept for desktop websites. The purpose of your mobile site is to provide the basic information that your customers will be looking for. This information should be made quick and easy to reach. © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved

4. 5. Include mobile friendly buttons. Provide customers with a “click to call” button so they do not have to copy down your company’s telephone number and can call directly from your website. Include links to social media profiles on your mobile site so that customers can easily navigate from your business page to your social media pages with the click of a button. Include an option to view the non-mobile site. Sometimes your customers are just browsing and have the time to spend navigating your site. Make sure you provide them with the ability to view everything your full desktop page has to offer if they so desire. 6. Limit the use of tables and scrolling. Remove extra tables to eliminate unnecessary scrolling. Remember to keep things simple. 7. Increase your speed. Limit the use of media on your mobile friendly site. Large files containing pictures and videos will slow the loading time for visitors. Make sure your loading time is down to 5 seconds or less. Anything more than that and you risk losing customers.Now that you have an understanding of mobile friendly website, we recommend you review ourMobile Marketing Planning Checklist to ensure you have the right people, processes, andtechnology to implement a solid mobile marketing program.If you are interested in monitoring your competitor’s mobile marketing initiatives, use ourMobile Marketing Competitive Tracking Tool to keep track of how your competitors areusing mobile in their marketing initiatives.Remember that the reason for creating a mobile friendly website is to ensure that yourcustomers and prospects are able to access your company’s information quickly and easilywhile on the go. It is important that your mobile friendly website is clear and concise, whilemaintaining the branding that your business has worked so hard to achieve recognition for.Bottom LineAn efficient mobile website makes your business more accessible to customers andprospects. If you do not have a mobile friendly website, you risk not acquiring new customersand even losing the ones you already have. As more people continue to turn to portabledevices such as tablets and smartphones, the demand for mobile friendly websites willcontinue to increase. Make sure your business is at the forefront of this mobile trend byensuring your company’s website offers a clear and concise mobile friendly site. © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved 5. Include mobile friendly buttons. Provide customers with a “click to call” button so they do not have to copy down your company’s telephone number and can call directly from your website. Include links to social media profiles on your mobile site so that customers can easily navigate from your business page to your social media pages with the click of a button. Include an option to view the non-mobile site. Sometimes your customers are just browsing and have the time to spend navigating your site. Make sure you provide them with the ability to view everything your full desktop page has to offer if they so desire. 6. Limit the use of tables and scrolling. Remove extra tables to eliminate unnecessary scrolling. Remember to keep things simple. 7. Increase your speed. Limit the use of media on your mobile friendly site. Large files containing pictures and videos will slow the loading time for visitors. Make sure your loading time is down to 5 seconds or less. Anything more than that and you risk losing customers.Now that you have an understanding of mobile friendly website, we recommend you review ourMobile Marketing Planning Checklist to ensure you have the right people, processes, andtechnology to implement a solid mobile marketing program.If you are interested in monitoring your competitor’s mobile marketing initiatives, use ourMobile Marketing Competitive Tracking Tool to keep track of how your competitors areusing mobile in their marketing initiatives.Remember that the reason for creating a mobile friendly website is to ensure that yourcustomers and prospects are able to access your company’s information quickly and easilywhile on the go. It is important that your mobile friendly website is clear and concise, whilemaintaining the branding that your business has worked so hard to achieve recognition for.Bottom LineAn efficient mobile website makes your business more accessible to customers andprospects. If you do not have a mobile friendly website, you risk not acquiring new customersand even losing the ones you already have. As more people continue to turn to portabledevices such as tablets and smartphones, the demand for mobile friendly websites willcontinue to increase. Make sure your business is at the forefront of this mobile trend byensuring your company’s website offers a clear and concise mobile friendly site. © 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved