Why You Must Have a Mobile Friendly Website?
”Mobile is changing the world. Today, everyone has smartphones with them, constantly communicating and looking for information. In many countries, the number of smartphones has surpassed the number of personal computers; having a mobile-friendly website has become a critical part of having an online presence.„ Google
Why make a website mobile-friendly?
The desktop version of a site might be difficult to view and use on a mobile device. The version that's not mobile-friendly requires the user to pinch or zoom in order to read the content. Users find this a frustrating experience and are likely to abandon the site. Alternatively, the mobile-friendly version is readable and immediately usable. In the USA, 94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones. Interestingly, 77% of mobile searches occur at home or at work, places where desktop computers are likely to be present. Mobile is critical to your business and will continue to be so - whether you're blogging about your favorite sports team, working on the website for your community theater, or selling products to potential clients. Make sure visitors can have a good experience on your site when they're visiting from their mobile devices!GoogleA few mobile market statistics who you should know
There are over 2.6 billion smartphone users worldwide
According to Statista, the overall number of mobile phone users reached 4.43 billion in 2015. This number is expected to grow to 4.61 billion in 2016 and 4.77 billion in 2017. ICT estimates that the number of "mobile cellular subscriptions" is even higher reaching 7 billion in 2015. Sources: 1, 2, 3
37% of all website visits come from mobile devices
According to StatCounter, 37% of website visits in 2015 were generated by mobile web browsers. At the end of 2015 the most popular browser was Chrome Mobile with 36.93% market share. UC Browser came second with 18.6% market share while Safari was third with 17.9%. Sources: 1, 2
4 inch is the most popular screen size
The latest DeviceAtlas statistics on the most popular screen sizes show that 4 inch phones are the most popular in most countries including the likes of UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan and USA. This is caused by the huge popularity of iPhone 5 and 5S. Other popular screen sizes include 4.7 inch (iPhone 6 and 6S) and 5 inch (Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One M8). Sources: 1
Phone owners in the U.S. use 2.5GB per month
Average data usage has been growing rapidly in most countries which is caused by the fact that more people use smartphones and that there are more bandwidth-heavy features on their phones. For the US market this figure is even higher according to an industry analyst Chetan Sharma which estimated that American smartphone users used 2.5 GB/month on average in Q1 2015. Sources: 1, 2
18% of Americans use mobile payments
A recent survey by Accenture showed that 18% of North Americans use mobile payments regularly and as much as 52% of them are aware that they're available (but not necessarily use them yet). According to eMarketer, the number of people using mobile payments will triple in the US in 2016. The company predicted that in 2015 mobile payments will total $8.71 billion in the U.S. This figure will reach $27.05 billion in 2016, eMarketer forecasted. Sources: 1, 2
87% of people always have their smartphone at their side
Google's report "Micro-moments" provided us with many interesting facts about the way people use their mobile devices:
- 68% of phone users say they check their phone within 15 min of waking up,
- 87% always have their smartphone at their side, day, and night
- On average people check their phones 150 times per day and spend 177 minutes using them
- 82% of smartphone users say they consult their phone during shopping in a physical location
- 91% of users turn to their phones for ideas in the middle of a task
Mobile ad spend is higher than for desktop ads
eMarketer predicted that in 2015 mobile should account for 51.9% of total digital spending in the U.S. in 2015. That means mobile might surpass desktop ad spending for the first time. Mobile ad spend in the U.S. will grow from $28.477 billion in 2015 to $40.241 billion in 2016, eMarketer estimated. Sources: 1
More searches take place on mobile devices than on computers
In May 2015, Google said that there were more searches on mobile than on desktop. Jerry Dischler, Google's Vice President, wrote in a blog post that "more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries including the U.S. and Japan". Google's search chief Amit Singhal also confirmed that now more Google searches happen on mobile than on desktop computers. According to a Google study quoted by Smart Insights, 48% of users start any research they make on a mobile device by using a search engine. This figure is actually lower than for desktop users showing the importance of mobile-optimized websites and apps. Sources: 1, 2, 3
Mobile commerce sales grew by 38.7% in 2015
More and more smartphone owners use their phones to make purchases online. According to a study by Internet Retailer "2016 Mobile 500", in 2015, U.S. mobile commerce sales are expected to total $104.05 billion, up 38.7% from $75.03 billion in 2014. The company estimated mobile commerce to grow 2.58 times faster than total e-commerce sales. The report also noted that mobile commerce took as much as 29.7% of all US e-commerce sales. Sources: 1, 2
