This seems overwhelming. Why?

Re-designing a site to work well on mobile devices is like moving from a 3,500 square-foot house to a 750 square-foot apartment. Do you still need a table and chairs? Sure. Do you still need a bed? Sure. Do you need cabinets, a fridge, a sink? Yes. You will need most of the same stuff. You will not need duplicates or all of the extraneous pieces that covered walls and sat on floors. It’ll likely be hard to let go of some things and to let go of that space. But what happens in the process?

You notice what is most valuable. You make choices. The things you select for the new, smaller space mean a lot. You might have a new appreciation for them. You might decide that much of the stuff wasn’t needed even in the large house. And friends who come over might find it refreshing.

Not even taking into consideration the capabilities of mobile devices that we don’t have on desktops, the space alone forces a hard look at the goals set for a website. What is the business goal? What does the user need? What is the primary activity to perform on the site? How is all of that best supported?

Mobile is an opportunity to focus. Designing a site to flow well and look good on any device size is an opportunity to improve the site even if no smartphones existed. The fact that they do, and the fact that more and more people are using mobile devices and expect sites to be mobile friendly, makes the need to improve for mobile necessary and valuable for any business.

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Why does a small business need a mobile friendly website?

How do people find out about your business? Do they hear about you from their friends or co-workers? Do they stumble upon your storefront as they are walking down the street? Do they see an ad for your business in the local paper? All of these are fine ways for you to reach people, but if they’re the only ways, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers.

More and more, people are out and about, and they pull out their web-enabled phones and search. One in three mobile searches have local intent, and 59% of consumers visit a local store after searching for it on the mobile Web.

When those consumers are searching, do they find you? Are you there to be found?

According to eMarketer, by 2013 the majority of mobile phone subscribers will have a smartphone. Already 61% of smartphone users search for local information, and 52% of search clicks result in calls.

That’s not only a lot of potential people searching for your business while they are out and ready to come visit, the numbers are increasing continuously. When someone searches for your business or type of business, it is critical to have a mobile-friendly website that makes your information easy to access and your phone an easy touch to call.

So how do you get that mobile friendly site?

It can seem overwhelming, of course. You have a business you know and love, and it needs your attention. So how can you go about getting an effective web presence while maintaining focus on the core of what you do?

Here are five steps in a proven process that will get you from current state to having an effective mobile web presence to help drive more customers to your business.

Identify the goal. Common goals are:

• Drive both new and existing customers to your store or business.
• Generate calls to your business.

Create a solution.

• Layout the website structure and content in a way that provides the best user experience.
• Great customer service includes providing a great user experience on your site. Happy web visitors will become happy customers.

Design and Write.

• Create a design that conveys the identity and nature of your business and that appeals to your target audience.
• Write content that enables people to quickly and easily find what they need. Make critical information such as your phone number, address, and operating hours easy to see at a quick glance.

Develop the site.

• Code the site in the most efficient way that achieves a responsive design so that your site looks great on any size device screen – from desktops to smartphones.
• Ensure a content management system that enables you to keep your content updated regularly.

Launch your site.

• With good search engine optimization (SEO) and strong content, you will be found more and more over time. Remember that it does take time to build up your site’s reputation and to be found consistently high in search engine results.
• Promote your site and be found in those ever-increasing local searches that potential customers are doing on their phones while out looking for what they need.

Always remember your customers. What do they want, and how can you help them? First, they want to find you and to quickly understand what you offer. More and more they want to achieve this while out and using their phones to search. Then they want to call or visit your business.

You can already provide excellent customer service just by having a mobile-friendly website that is there for people at the moment they need it.

The post Mobile-Friendly Website – Why and How for Your Small Business appeared first on 435 Digital.