Why You Need a Mobile Website in 2015

Starting April 21, 2015, Google is officially introducing mobile ranking signals into its algorithm. In short: If your website isn’t mobile, you’re going to be sorry.

So why does Google think it’s so important to have a mobile website? This, and most other algorithm decisions the search giant makes, boil down to user experience. If your website gives users a good experience, then Google ranks it higher. It does this by compiling different signals – like the quantity and quality of people linking to your site is a signal, for example – and estimates just how useful the information you provide is to the user searching for it.

With so many people searching for information on their mobile devices lately – 80% of internet users own and search the web on a smartphone –, it seems that Google has determined (along with the rest of the millennial generation, it seems) that if you’re not mobile, you’re toast.

If you still need more convincing, here are our top reasons why mobile websites are important:

1. Because Google said so (this is kind of like your parents’ “because I said so” argument when you were little.)
2. User experience: 19% of people won’t wait more than five seconds for your site to load on mobile.
3. It helps you out-gun your competition: less than 10% of businesses have websites that are mobile-optimized, but it’s quickly becoming a top priority. Act fast.
4. It gives you access to an audience that you can’t reach on desktop, like teenagers constantly on their smartphones
5. Mobile sites are inexpensive and often easy to create, so long as you start from scratch. If you’re trying to take your existing website from desktop-only to mobile-friendly, we suggest hiring a web developer well-versed in responsive design, or starting from scratch with a new design.