The world is going mobile. The rise of smartphones, tablets and now phablets means more people are doing more on their mobile devices than ever before.

What that means is that you can no longer rely on the desktop version of your website if you are to remain competitive. Here are reasons why it is so crucial to have a mobile website.

Improve the user experience

Website usability should always be at the forefront of your mind when you plan a website.

You may hire a skilled designer who has experience designing beautiful, functional websites that optimise the user experience. But no matter how much you work on improving usability for your visitors, if you do not have a mobile version of your site, usability will always be affected for mobile visitors because:

• they will not be able to navigate properly;
• they may find it difficult to access your content;
• pages may load slowly.

As a result, the chances of converting them could be reduced.

More and more, people expect to see a mobile friendly website, especially in the travel niche where they may want to check out your site while on-the-go. What it really says if you don’t have a mobile site is that you cannot be bothered to create a better experience for your visitors – and that can hurt your brand.

Boost your visibility

Following the Google update in April 2015, mobile friendly websites have a better chance of showing up in mobile search results.

Google wants to provide the best results to its searchers, so it makes sense that people searching on mobiles will want to find sites that they can view easily on their devices.

Even if you are not trying to sell directly via your website, you still want to make yourself as visible as possible in the search engines. People may want to read your blog on their phones, for example. In such a competitive environment, doing everything you can to stand out is essential – and making your site mobile friendly is so easy that it should not be ignored.

How to get a mobile friendly site

There are two main ways to get a mobile friendly site:

• create a mobile version on a new template;
• redesign your site using responsive design.

There is no right and wrong solution, only what is best in your situation. However, responsive design is often seen as the preferred option because you only have one version of your site and the actual design shifts and changes depending on the size of the screen being used to view it. You don’t therefore have to make changes to two websites, which saves you time.

Go mobile as soon as you can

Even if you do not receive much mobile traffic yet, now is the time to launch a mobile-friendly website. As more and more people start to use their mobile devices to access the internet, you want to place yourself in the best position to take advantage of the possible business they will bring, so there is no time like the present to get going with your mobile site.