When people access the internet, they use all sorts of devices. Mobile devices like feature phones, smartphones, and tablets are now very important internet access devices. So, have you asked yourself how your business website, which looks fantastic on your computer looks on mobile devices?
Mobile is increasingly popular these days globally and in developing countries like Nigeria the number is even higher with most users accessing the internet via mobile phones. So as a business, you need to make sure your website is mobile friendly or you could be losing out on potential sales.
Your Customers are on Mobile
This blog (NaijaTechGuide) gets over 80% of its visits via mobile devices. This I believe is a true reflection of mobile device usage in Nigeria. This could mean that your website may not be displaying well for more than 50% of your visitors if you do not have a mobile friendly website.
This could lead to increased bounce rate for visitors on mobile with resultant loss in sales. When designing a website for your business, make sure it displays well on mobile devices used in your country.
In Nigeria, Opera Mini is the top browser with most mobile devices used on the internet being below 400 pixels in width, making optimising for Nigeria mobile users more challenging compared to the Western world.
It is important to make sure your web designer is factoring mobile optimisation in your project so that you can connect with your visitors using mobile devices. If your current website is not mobile friendly, you can get a web designer to help you mobilise your website.
If you are using a template (theme) to build your website, get one that is responsive. A responsive template will optimize view depending on the device used by the viewer.
How to Make your Website Mobile Friendly
To be more mobile friendly you have four choices:
1.) Upgrade your template (theme) to one with a responsive design. This means it will adapt seamlessly to any device. Upgrading template is easy if you are using a Content Management System like WordPress or Joomla. If you are not using a CMS, you need to get a web developer to redesign your website using responsive design methodologies. This is the recommended route since Google is now going with Mobile First.
2) Use AMP. AMP is a project introduced by Google to make creating websites that loads fast on mobile easier.
3.) Design a full mobile version of your website and use server commands to instruct your server to load the mobile version when your website is accessed by mobile devices.
4.) Use CSS or even server/client scripting to customise your existing website to display better on mobile.
5.) Use website mobilization tools. These tools use your RSS feed or links to build a mobile version of your website. Some of these website mobilization tools can also turn your website to mobile apps for mobile platforms like Android, Windows Phone, iOS, etc.
All these methods are okay with the CMS + responsive theme offering the easiest and fastest solution to turning your website mobile-friendly.
For a functional mobile website for your business, use CSS/server/client scripting, full mobile website version, or a responsive theme for building your mobile site. Website mobilisation tools are best suited for mobile apps.
