The biggest mistake most website builders and business owners make when building a website is forgetting the importance of the mobile website experience.
More than half of all web traffic today now comes from mobile devices, and that is only going to continue to grow.
Over 70% of adults in American own smartphones and the statistics are similar all across the world. Mobile phone ownerships has more than doubled over the last six years, and as the technology continues to develop and become even more affordable, we’ll only see the numbers continue to rise.
Too many marketers and business owners assume that the mobile user has the same mindset as the desktop or laptop user. They are just looking at a smaller computer in their hand, right?
Unfortunately, this thinking is entirely wrong. With more than 50% of the world’s population now using smartphones, it’s important to understand why they use them, how they use them, and what they expect from a mobile website experience.
More people having smartphones does not necessarily mean more traffic for your website. In many instances, it could actually mean lower quality traffic and fewer hits in general, especially if you are expecting the mobile user to behave the same way the desktop user does.
The Difference between Mobile Users and Desktop Users
You’ve probably already heard that the internet age has produced a generation of people with short attention spans, especially when it comes to advertising and webpages. They want what they want, when they want it.
The internet provides them with that ability—to get the information or make the purchase they want right now. Which means they are no longer willing to wait for pages that load slowly or that hide the information they’re looking for in sub menus and on different tabs. This is true for the desktop user and for the mobile user.
The desktop user, however, is more accepting of slower load times and larger pages. They may still be now-minded, but because of the larger screen and traditionally slower load times. But the same cannot be said about the mobile user.
Because internet accessibility on mobile devices “came of age” when internet was already fast, mobile users expect pages to load quickly and to make the information they want to find accessible. Smaller screens means a different mentality and it means that you cannot simply shrink your website and expect a mobile user to be able to use it.
Mobile users are also more likely to respond positively to advertising on their smartphone than they are to respond to traditional advertising.
Research has shown that more millennials will have a more emotional response to advertising on their smartphone than they will to advertising on their computer or on a television. Even those who were watching television and using the smartphone at the same time were more responsive to mobile advertising than they were to advertisements on the television.
This is because mobile users, when on their smartphone, pay more attention to their smartphone than to any other device or situation that may be happening around them. This means that not only is a mobile user more likely to have a positive and emotional response to advertising they are presented on their mobile device, they are also more likely to engage with advertising on that device on the whole.
The content that users view on each device is usually very different, too. Users on mobile are much more likely to watch a video if it is shot in portrait mode, rather than in landscape mode. Why? Because if a video is shot in landscape mode, it will either be tiny when the user is holding their phone upright, or will require the user to turn their phone sideways. Just that little bit of effort is enough to prevent users from watching a video advertisement.
How much more likely are mobile users to watch a video if it is shot in portrait mode? Nine times more likely. They are also five times more engaged with portrait video advertisements than they are with static banner advertisements.
Desktop users, however, are more partial to videos in landscape, as they do not have the huge black bars on the sides of the video and are immediately larger than other videos on the screen. Because this is the format they are more used to seeing on a computer, they are more likely to watch a video in that format.
It should also be noted that mobile users almost always have their phone on them. It is a much more individualized device—it goes where you go. Even if you are just running a short errand or walking around the block, you, like most people, take your phone with you. 80% of people are within three feet of their phone at all times. This makes it much easier to get advertisements in front of a user, especially when you consider that desktop computers require a user to actually go and sit in a specific place to access the internet.
How to Use This Information
If you want to take advantage of the mobile mindset, you will need to adjust your website strategy and your mobile ad strategy. Because it is possible to design a website that knows what device it is being accessed from, it is imperative to design a responsive website that can easily mold itself to any size screen. This is the first step to success when it comes to taking advantage of the mobile user’s psychology.
It is also important to put special emphasis on how quickly your page loads and how the page can be navigated when you are accessing it. Remember that users are using their phones to navigate your website. If buttons are too small, they will be difficult to tap, which means users will become frustrated when they accidentally tap on the wrong area. Placing links and buttons too close together can also be another problem.
Psychology also becomes a factor when considering how to make any videos that you might post on your website. If you have mostly mobile viewers, videos in the portrait format are more likely to be viewed. Designing your mobile experience with the brain of the mobile user in mind can mean much better traffic and much better traffic retention, especially because Google looks at how responsive a website is and what features it has been built with for the mobile user when compiling relevant search results.
Right now, business owners spend an average of 10% of their marketing budget on mobile website and advertising development. Facebook recommends that 80% of marketing and online reputation budget should be spent on the mobile side of the line.
Brands that take the leap and start putting more emphasis on making their website experience and marketing more mobile-friendly will reap the rewards.
The biggest mistake most website builders and business owners make when building a website is forgetting the importance of the mobile website experience.
More than half of all web traffic today now comes from mobile devices, and that is only going to continue to grow.
Over 70% of adults in American own smartphones and the statistics are similar all across the world. Mobile phone ownerships has more than doubled over the last six years, and as the technology continues to develop and become even more affordable, we’ll only see the numbers continue to rise.
Too many marketers and business owners assume that the mobile user has the same mindset as the desktop or laptop user. They are just looking at a smaller computer in their hand, right?
Unfortunately, this thinking is entirely wrong. With more than 50% of the world’s population now using smartphones, it’s important to understand why they use them, how they use them, and what they expect from a mobile website experience.
More people having smartphones does not necessarily mean more traffic for your website. In many instances, it could actually mean lower quality traffic and fewer hits in general, especially if you are expecting the mobile user to behave the same way the desktop user does.
The Difference between Mobile Users and Desktop Users
You’ve probably already heard that the internet age has produced a generation of people with short attention spans, especially when it comes to advertising and webpages. They want what they want, when they want it.
The internet provides them with that ability—to get the information or make the purchase they want right now. Which means they are no longer willing to wait for pages that load slowly or that hide the information they’re looking for in sub menus and on different tabs. This is true for the desktop user and for the mobile user.
The desktop user, however, is more accepting of slower load times and larger pages. They may still be now-minded, but because of the larger screen and traditionally slower load times. But the same cannot be said about the mobile user.
Because internet accessibility on mobile devices “came of age” when internet was already fast, mobile users expect pages to load quickly and to make the information they want to find accessible. Smaller screens means a different mentality and it means that you cannot simply shrink your website and expect a mobile user to be able to use it.
Mobile users are also more likely to respond positively to advertising on their smartphone than they are to respond to traditional advertising.
Research has shown that more millennials will have a more emotional response to advertising on their smartphone than they will to advertising on their computer or on a television. Even those who were watching television and using the smartphone at the same time were more responsive to mobile advertising than they were to advertisements on the television.
This is because mobile users, when on their smartphone, pay more attention to their smartphone than to any other device or situation that may be happening around them. This means that not only is a mobile user more likely to have a positive and emotional response to advertising they are presented on their mobile device, they are also more likely to engage with advertising on that device on the whole.
The content that users view on each device is usually very different, too. Users on mobile are much more likely to watch a video if it is shot in portrait mode, rather than in landscape mode. Why? Because if a video is shot in landscape mode, it will either be tiny when the user is holding their phone upright, or will require the user to turn their phone sideways. Just that little bit of effort is enough to prevent users from watching a video advertisement.
How much more likely are mobile users to watch a video if it is shot in portrait mode? Nine times more likely. They are also five times more engaged with portrait video advertisements than they are with static banner advertisements.
Desktop users, however, are more partial to videos in landscape, as they do not have the huge black bars on the sides of the video and are immediately larger than other videos on the screen. Because this is the format they are more used to seeing on a computer, they are more likely to watch a video in that format.
It should also be noted that mobile users almost always have their phone on them. It is a much more individualized device—it goes where you go. Even if you are just running a short errand or walking around the block, you, like most people, take your phone with you. 80% of people are within three feet of their phone at all times. This makes it much easier to get advertisements in front of a user, especially when you consider that desktop computers require a user to actually go and sit in a specific place to access the internet.
How to Use This Information
If you want to take advantage of the mobile mindset, you will need to adjust your website strategy and your mobile ad strategy. Because it is possible to design a website that knows what device it is being accessed from, it is imperative to design a responsive website that can easily mold itself to any size screen. This is the first step to success when it comes to taking advantage of the mobile user’s psychology.
It is also important to put special emphasis on how quickly your page loads and how the page can be navigated when you are accessing it. Remember that users are using their phones to navigate your website. If buttons are too small, they will be difficult to tap, which means users will become frustrated when they accidentally tap on the wrong area. Placing links and buttons too close together can also be another problem.
Psychology also becomes a factor when considering how to make any videos that you might post on your website. If you have mostly mobile viewers, videos in the portrait format are more likely to be viewed. Designing your mobile experience with the brain of the mobile user in mind can mean much better traffic and much better traffic retention, especially because Google looks at how responsive a website is and what features it has been built with for the mobile user when compiling relevant search results.
Right now, business owners spend an average of 10% of their marketing budget on mobile website and advertising development. Facebook recommends that 80% of marketing and online reputation budget should be spent on the mobile side of the line.
Brands that take the leap and start putting more emphasis on making their website experience and marketing more mobile-friendly will reap the rewards.
Published on May 10, 2018
About the Author: Chris Williams
