In this article…
You will read some up to date January 2014 stats on web traffic and internet usage that is going to blow your mind! If you don’t have an online strategy that is mobile first then you’re going to be in trouble in 2014.
Can you answer YES to the below?
My website…
- doesn’t work on mobile devices
- is made entirely in flash
- relies on flash menus or banners
- is static
- uses frames
- is more than 3 years old
If so you are going to want to change your website tomorrow!
64% INTERNET USAGE IS VIA MOBILE IN UK!!!
This means if the above is true then only 35% of internet traffic can get onto your website! Seriously, think about that! If you’re thinking, “my customers don’t use their phones to view my site”, then think again. Go look on your Google Analytics now and check because odds are the amount of users from mobile devices is A LOT higher than you think!
On our website (www.bantermedia.com) this month 26.6% of users are using a mobile or tablet. That’s not 65% but that’s still 1 in 4 users and if our site wasn’t mobile friendly then we’d be losing ONE QUARTER OF SALES!
If you’re thinking that you can’t afford a new website then let’s think about the numbers of a minute.
THE MATHS
Let’s say you turnover £200,000 a year.
Without a mobile website then you’re missing out on between 25-65% of sales.
Conservatively, let’s say 20% of your potential customers can’t view your site.
Well 20% of £200,000 = £40,000 and a mobile site would cost you £5,000 — £10,000. That’s a pretty good ROI if you ask me!
Is the answer to any of these NO?
My website…
- is responsive for any mobile or tablet device
- is tested on every mobile platform
- was designed within the last 12 months
- is designed with mobile in mind
- only contains small compressed images
- is search engine optimised
If you answered NO to any of these then you probably should change your website as soon as possible.
Is the answer to any of these YES?
My website…
- is design with mobile FIRST
- utilises css to minimise images
- has a short page load speed
- uses HTML5 animations wisely
- focuses on UX design
- is optimised for touch
- tells a story
- sells without selling
- is integration with own social campaigns
If the answer to most of these is YES then great, you’re well placed to take on the world in 2014 but you can still improve so speak to your web developer and see what you can do to improve.
If the answer to ALL OF THESE is YES then congratulations you win the internet! I hope you enjoy your new Yacht and watching the rest of the world try and catch up as they see sales dwindle
BELOW ARE SOME REALLY INTERESTING METRICS ON INTERNET USAGE IN THE UK.
Note: Yes that really says 130% mobile penetration.
There are more mobile phone subscriptions in the UK than there are people in the country. Technology has officially outnumbered the population.
It is stats like this that mean you CAN’T ignore mobile any more. You can’t just sit by thinking that you don’t need a mobile website yet.
HERE ARE SOME GLOBAL STATS ARE STAGGERING
93% of the world has an active mobile subscription. That’s just ridiculous when you think about it.
Takeaways:
In the UK we average almost 6 hours of internet usage a day and over 1/5th of this is via a mobile device.
I can understand if even with these figures you’re thinking that you can probably hold out from redesigning your website for a little while yet.
However, can you afford to be playing catch up? The growth of mobile internet usage is staggering. It is only going to increase.
Touch is here to stay
Mobile is here to stay
If you don’t focus your marketing efforts on both of these you might as well put your head in the sand.
Further, HTML5 and CSS3 are making mobile sites even more engaging than desktop sites when don’t correctly. The power of the touch interface really opens up the possibilities to what developers can do with how they tell your story.
Lastly, if there’s one thing you take away from this then make it this. Mobile isn’t something to be afraid of, it is something to embrace. If you’re happy with your current website then you can just add code to redirect mobile users to a purpose built mobile site without having to overhaul the site you already have. You can get a developer to user a ready made mobile template to keep costs down and get access to all those mobile surfers quickly and easily.
However, if you really want to take 2014 by the scruff of the neck then get yourself an all singing, all dancing, HTML5 animated, responsive, flat UX design, scrolling website and make your competitors look like their still using Netscape Navigator!
