These days, having a mobile-responsive website isn't optional. With the number of people browsing on mobile now exceeding those browsing on desktop, it's more important than ever to ensure that your website works well for mobile phones and tablets. Here's how to ensure that you're optimising your website for mobile...
Tablet vs mobile
While you may know the difference between mobile and desktop, it's important to differentiate between mobile phone and tablet. We analysed the results of how brides viewed Guides for Brides to see how users browsed our site, and on which platform:Â
- In 2018, 59.18% of our total site visits were made on a mobile phone.
- Brides are twice as likely to look for deals on a tablet than a mobile, with twice that number looking on a desktop.
- Real weddings are viewed more on tablets than phones.
- The majority of brides read the blog from a desktop and not a mobile device.Â
- Twice as many brides use desktop rather than a mobile when looking for Wedding Fairs.
- More brides use a tablet or phone rather than a desktop to access their planner.
- Brides are using their mobiles to look at your business more info pages.
What do these stats tell us?
Whilst tablets and desktops are the preferred method for inspiration, when it comes to planning the details of their wedding, brides prefer to use their mobile phones!
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Therefore, having a mobile responsive website is key for all wedding businesses. However, not all businesses are the same, and you may want to see whether your own website users are active on mobile, tablet or desktop. You can do this by viewing the Google Analytics for your site and selecting the 'Mobile' option under the Audience tab.Â
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If the majority of your potential customers are using their mobiles to investigate your website, then it is definitely worthwhile investing the time and effort into a mobile responsive website.Â
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How can you tell if your website is mobile responsive?Â
You can how your website looks on different platforms by visiting it on desktop and right-clicking 'Inspect'. You can then drag your website to different sizes to see how it responds to a smaller screen. On a Mac, you may even be able to choose which platform you'd like to view, right down to the screen size of certain popular phone brands. Here's an example of our own website:
Top tips for creating a mobile-friendly website
If your website doesn't respond well to being resized for a mobile screen, then you'll need to enlist the help of a professional web designer to assist you with this. However, we have a few top tips for wedding businesses in particular when it comes to your mobile site:Â
- Keep enquiry forms short and easy to fill in to ensure that brides don't get frustrated.
- Your fonts should be clear, concise and easy to read - avoid calligraphy which doesn't translate to a smaller screen.
- For mobile in particular, be sure that brides can easily navigate to your key information. While beautiful inspiration pictures are fine for tablet and desktop versions, be mindful that large images can make navigating on a mobile phone tricky.Â