Mobile version of a website: do we really need it?

There is a simple, unambiguous answer to this difficult question. Yes, we do. And the reasoning is also very simple. According to Liveinternet, the most authoritative source on the Russian-language internet, the monthly share of mobile browsers amounts to 30.4% of the total number of browsers. That is tens of millions of potential customers a month. A tasty morsel for any business.

Developing a website with a mobile version is especially necessary if you plan to attract users to the site through social networks. See for yourself: log in to VKontakte and look at how many people on your friends list are browsing from a mobile phone.

This issue is even more relevant for companies targeting a young audience. Tablets and mobile phones now appear in children's hands practically from the cradle. For some young people, the mobile browser is their main means of accessing the internet altogether.

But access to the network through a handheld device is also very important for an older audience. People spend many hours a day commuting to work and back. Take a look in your spare time at what they do along the way.

Mobile version: what is it?

Simply put, if a website has a mobile version, then it is exactly that version which is shown when accessing the site from a portable device. Its main differences from the main version of the site are: the font size matches the screen size, the page width matches the browser width, the information is laid out in a form that is easy to perceive on a mobile device, and interaction with the site is adapted to finger taps.
In other words, by taking care of the mobile version you make the site much better for your users. This is a real competitive advantage that is sure to have a positive impact on sales.

Advertising online.

By default, contextual advertising is shown to all internet users. If your site looks bad on a mobile phone, then rest assured – you are wasting part of your advertising money. Among your competitors there are sure to be those who do not have such problems. Because of this, the Google contextual network will require a higher bid to display your ads, since it takes the quality of the landing pages into account.
And if you turn off the display of ads for the mobile network, then in that case too you will lose customers, because, as already mentioned above, every third person accesses the internet from a tablet or phone.

A few tricks of the mobile version of a site.

A true mobile version of a site looks equally good on all devices. This is its main difference from fluid layout, which is able to adjust only to small changes in screen width. Achieving this is not easy, which is why the price of the site rises somewhat, but the mobile users you attract will quickly pay back these costs.

One more nuance.

Despite the development of internet access speeds, saving on the volume of transmitted traffic is still relevant. The "lighter" the site, the faster it loads on mobile, and the more users will wait for the loading to finish. The bulkiest content on a site is images. Make sure that special reduced-size copies are prepared for your mobile version. Then there will be no delays when loading the site from a mobile device.

Impact on SEO.

If you look into the Google webmaster admin panel, you will find a special section there: "Mobile Usability." The search engine genuinely evaluates your site for how convenient it is to use for users of portable devices. And this evaluation is taken into account when determining which site to show in the results for a query.

Do not put it off until later.

The peculiarity of website development is such that making a mobile version of a site at the very beginning is easier than adding it to an existing resource. This will also save you money, because if you decide to solve this problem later, the webmaster will need to redo your site almost completely. Naturally, not for free.
It is also worth thinking about the mobile version of the site right away because a beautiful appearance must be provided for by the designer creating your resource. They will need to prepare several mockups so that the programmers know how the site will change at one screen width or another.

Let us sum up.

For Western companies, the convenience of viewing their sites from a mobile device has become a standard of doing business. Moreover, a trend has now emerged in which more attention is paid to this version of the site than to the main one.
And we too, if we want to win in the fight against competitors, should not forget about this.