In order for businesses to thrive in today’s crowded market, they need to not only have an online website, but a mobile website as well. More than half of Americans currently own a smart phone. With smart phones being so affordable now, many consumers forgo a computer at home, using their smart phones instead.
Smart phones are used for everything from phone calls, texting, taking photographs, playing games, using apps, and surfing the net. Most smart phone data packages are becoming more affordable, or even have no-limit rates. You only have to walk down the street to see the number of people using their smart phones for non-phone call use.
When you need to hire an expert to create a mobile website for you, here’s some tips to keep in mind. The more you plan in advance, the more affordable your mobile website programming package will be.
1. Company name and contact information should be on the landing page. Smart phones may be handy, but they have tiny screens, and it can ease frustration if you provide all your business details on the main page, such as address, phone number, and email. That way when your customer needs to quickly look up your address, they won’t get frustrated when they’re on the way to visit you.
2. If your business has more than one location, set up your landing page so that users can first choose their preferred location, before entering the site. Sometimes different locations have different deals, or pricing. Don’t annoy your customers by having conflicting information on one page. This is especially handy for businesses who have a USA and a Canada site.
3. Decide which photographs are most important. Don’t leave your customers scrolling through several images, select one or two, the ones that most represent your business, or your products. You can always have more photos on additional menu pages, if it’s a business that relies on photographs, such as a photographer or a florist.
4. Include a map, so that your customers can find you. This is not so important on the home computer when a user can just open a second window in google, but on a smart phone, provide a handy map so your customers can easily find you. You won’t believe the number of people who use smart phones to look up directions to find businesses.
5. Have an easy drop down menu for any options you don’t wish to list on the main page. If you own a car dealership you may create a separate menu button for each type of car. Just don’t list too many options, you don’t want to overwhelm your buyers, when you want to entice them to visit your business on site.
Carefully plan what elements you wish to place on your mobile website, so that you can present them to your mobile website designer. It’ll save on time and money if you’re organized in advance, rather than going back and forth several times a day. Once your mobile website is online, you’ll be extending your customer reach to everyone who is interested in your business.
If you have any questions about how to set up a mobile website, contact Direct West Media Group Inc., and we’ll be happy to create a fantastic mobile website for you.
