Five Reasons to Invest in Mobile Web Design

Mobile devices are everywhere. We bring our tablets to Sunday brunch, we check in on our cell phones while we're at the park, we message from the front row at a music festival, we're even web surfing on street corners while we wait for the light to change. Yet with all of that in-our-face use of mobile devices, some business owners are still dragging their feet when it comes to mobile optimization. And it's not hard to understand why when you consider their perspective -- often, a business owner's reluctance (necessarily) comes down to dollars and cents. How can they know that making a big investment into mobile-friendly web design will be worth it in the long run?

But where profits and bottom lines are at the forefront of a business owner's mind, the good web designer has something else to consider: user experience. And a mobile-friendly web design can make all the difference between the sought-after sales conversion and a frustrated customer attempting to browse an outdated website from her cell phone. But for business owners that still need convincing, the stats (compiled by Mobify) on mobile web should come in handy. Here are 3 pretty compelling reasons that your business should invest in mobile optimization sooner rather than later.

1. Over 1.2 billion people access the web from their mobile devices.
   This is oft-cited number of mobile device users should put things in perspective, but to break it down even further, consider that more than half (58% to be exact) of all US consumers own a smartphone, and that worldwide mobile traffic now accounts for 15% of all internet traffic. Mobile devices are only going to become more common, and so will the need for mobile optimization.
2. No one screen size has more than 20% of the market share.
   It's not just cell phone screens that are seeing all the action; in addition to smartphones, we browse from tablets, desktop PCs, and even smart TVs. In fact, 90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal. And as an added incentive: Tablet users spend 50% more than PC users. That alone might be reason enough for a tablet-ready website redesign.
3. 61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience.
   Brand savvy business owners, take note! Mobile optimization matters. According to Amazon, every 100ms increase in load time decreases sales by 1%. In this day and age, a difficult to navigate, slow to load, and generally out of date website can send a message about your entire business (and if your site isn't mobile optimized, it is out of date).

On the other hand, creating a positive user experience is why sleek and simple mobile-friendly design is becoming the norm, while flash-laden, shock and awe sites are fading away. When 60% of mobile shoppers use their smartphones once they're already in the store (and another 50% are browsing en route), mobile optimization is an investment business owners can't afford not to make.