Is Your Website Optimized for Mobile Media?

If your business web site is only viewable in the standard display formats used for desktops and laptops, then now may be a great time to upgrade.

Consider the benefits of creating a pleasant experience for those viewing your website on smart phones and other mobile devices. Consumers and business people alike are purchasing and using mobile devices at an unprecedented rate. Your business is in danger of being left behind on this tsunami-like web marketing trend unless you get on board and get ahead of your competition.

Mobile shoppers and viewers are often on the go, with little patience for a viewing experience that slows them down or makes them work too hard to find the information they are seeking.

The primary goal of formatting web pages for mobile media centers on creating a pleasant user experience that does not require the user to manually expand pages to view information, to navigate the menu system, or to fill out online forms.

It also includes not forcing the entire page width of the standard website onto the mobile version, but instead breaking it down into smaller, more readable chunks and single columns suited to smaller mobile viewing formats.

Ever since the de facto death of the Yellow Pages caused by the ease and power of online searches, a solid website design has become a prerequisite for doing business, or at least for getting found by those unfamiliar with a firm’s services and products.

Instead of operating in relative anonymity, even small businesses today can become global concerns by leveraging the power of web marketing in its various forms. And now the website prerequiste is expanding to mobile websites.

When creating a mobile web site for your business you have two main options: one option is to create a stand-alone mobile version, the other is to modify your existing website to detect mobile devices and to automatically re-format each page for mobile viewing. The latter spares you the hassle of maintaining two versions, which can otherwise become a considerable long term cost.

For the stand-alone option there are off-the-shelf packages that allow the do-it-yourselfer to muddle through the process of creating a mobile website. In many cases that is a serious mistake because most novices lack the online marketing and graphic design skills needed to create a well-designed mobile version.

When it comes to optimizing your site for mobile devices, the stakes are high because your business is competing with others for the time and attention of a rapidly growing number of mobile viewers and shoppers. Therefore, hire someone with true mobile media marketing and web design expertise, saving you lots of time and effort, and providing a much greater chance of yielding impressive results.

Today’s trends are clear: mobile media marketing and formatting websites for mobile viewing are among the keys to online marketing success. Still not convinced? Take a moment and look around you when in public or when picking up your teenager after school. Chances are you will see lots of people engrossed with their smart phones (and we’ve all seen distracted drivers as well, further proving the point that people are driven to use their mobile devices!).

Some Smart Small Business Have as Well. Check out the popular social media sites like Facebook, Google Plus, Linked In, Twitter, and others — they all have mobile versions. Want to see one of the best mobile shopping sites? Check out Amazon from your mobile phone, then download their mobile app – it’s flawless. The best part is that the technology to accomplish this is now within reach of even very small businesses , thanks to website technology leaders like HubSpot and others, so there is no reason to hold back if you think it may be right for you.

The list of social sites and other mobile sites from informational to e-commerce that are ‘must-be-ons’ will only continue to grow.  All these sites and many more are optimized for mobile media marketing, and the trend is growing rapidly by the day. Now is the time to develop your mobile media marketing plan, including your mobile-optimized website.

Whether you need a complete web design and online marketing overhaul for your business, or are just looking to make your website mobile-friendly, we can help. Contact PMI  today to learn more.