Going Mobile: Does Your Business Need a Mobile App?
Everyone, it seems, reaches for their smartphone and taps a mobile app for quick access to information. Whether they’re searching for movie times or restaurants, people seem to love apps. But is a mobile app necessary for your business? If you decide not to have an app, what are the options to make your web presence strong for people who rely upon their smartphones for internet access?
We’ll take a look at the reasons for building mobile apps. For those who opt not to do an app, you’ll still need to boost your presence for an increasingly mobile audience, so we’ll go into some tips to help you get the most from your website when it’s viewed on smartphones. Lastly, we’ll make a few recommendations if you’d like to build an app or add responsive design to your website.
First, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of building mobile apps.
Mobile Apps: Does Your Company Need One?
Mobile apps tend to be an extension of a company’s website, product or service offering. Many media outlets, for example, build mobile apps so that customers can quickly and easily access their content from the home page of their smartphones. That’s a great example of the benefits of a mobile app; it helps customers access content without opening a web browser, typing in a URL, and waiting for content to load.
If customers visit your website frequently to look up information, read new content, or use your service, then a mobile app may be a smart investment. When you can make your service easier, faster or more convenient for customers to access, an app makes sense.
Responsive Mobile Design
Companies who decide not to build a mobile app will still need a website that’s easy to navigate and use on a smartphone. According to the Pew Center for Internet Research, nearly two-thirds of all Americans own a smartphone and use this as their preferred way of accessing the internet.
Websites designed for both desktops and mobile devices need to be responsive. This means that they can sense the type of device displaying their information, and change the display to make it easier for customers to view.
Mobile devices tend to have smaller screens, for example, so a responsive site might make the navigation buttons larger, or change other aspects of the display so that it’s easier to see. Mobile users also demand sites that load quickly, and responsive sites usually cut down on picture display or pixels to make images load quickly.
If your website isn’t set up for responsive mobile design, you could be losing many potential customers. Worse still, you may be losing ground among search engines. Google rewards site owners with higher search engine positions if their sites are designed with mobile responsiveness in mind. Slow websites, or those that do not load properly on mobile devices, may be pushed lower into the search engine results pages (SERPS) than others. The lower your site appears on the SERPS, the fewer people will see or click on it.
Time to Build a Mobile App? Responsive Website? Call Us!
If you’re looking for a mobile app or responsive website design, contact Funwebsing today. We offer website design and build services, mobile apps, and responsive site designs you’ll love. Contact us today for a free web and mobile estimate.