As a business owner, it’s important to consider every opportunity that can help you build your business online and connect with the customers who are looking for your products or services. One of the ways you probably stay connected to friends, family, and business associates is through your smartphone. More and more people have smartphones attached to their hands every waking hour to access directions, post on social media sites, send emails, manage their schedule, and do just about anything else you can think of!
Mobile phones are changing the way we access the Internet and use technology in our daily lives. Smartphones also make us demand that information be delivered fast . . . or we move onto something that is easy to find and easy to access. You only have a few seconds to entice new customers to do business with you or to engage them in analyzing your business products or services.
One of the ways to enable your business to reach more customers who are on smartphones is to make sure you have a mobile website.
Why is a mobile website important? With a mobile website, you can be sure your site is accessible and viewable on a smaller screen. It gives people searching for your business a fast and easy way to find you wherever they are! 77% of local information seekers call or visit a business after looking up local information on their smartphone.*
Three-quarters of smartphone shoppers report purchase decisions were influenced as a result of using a smartphone.*
Customers viewing a mobile website can:
- Access a map to your business location—if they can’t find you, how can they do business with you?
- Research your website for more information about your business.
- Use the click-to-call function that allows someone on a mobile phone to call you in seconds—no typing needed and no room for errors!
What does a mobile site look like? A mobile website is a smaller, simpler version of your company website that is built to be viewed on a mobile device. Standard Web pages often load slowly, have technology that is not viewable on a mobile phone, or require scrolling to view on a mobile device. A mobile site provides a quick snapshot of your product or service in an easy-to-navigate format for smartphone viewing.
How do I get a mobile site, and what does it cost? There are many providers for mobile sites, and they range from custom developing a new site to simply optimizing your existing website for mobile viewing. The costs range from a low monthly fee such as $5.99 with no setup fees to $35 per month with a $99 setup fee or more. Some providers require a domain name issued or managed by them, and other mobile services allow you to create a mobile site with no existing domain name.
The Web.com mobile website product enables your existing Web.com domain to be versioned as a mobile website and displays the mobile website when viewed on a mobile device. This makes it easy for your customers to remember your domain, and automatically view your mobile site when they’re using their mobile phone. The mobile website is developed quickly for you by pulling information from your existing website.
What do I do once I have a mobile site? As a next step, you’ll want to make sure you’re appearing in mobile search listings. Because people on computers use different sources to search online than mobile users, you need to make sure you have your business listed in directories, map and review sites, and other applications that are already popular with mobile users. You can list basic details like your location, contact information, and a short description for free on many sites and apps. Some key listings include Google Maps, Google Places Mobile, Yahoo!® Local, Bing™ Local Listings, Yelp, and Foursquare.
It’s not hard to set up a mobile website. We can guide you through the process, set one up for you, or help you find a solution that fits your needs. At Web.com, we’re always here to help you succeed online. Just give us a call at 800-932-4678 to get started.
*Source: Google.
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Noel Jennings said on February 3, 2012
Can you give me an estimate to do a mobile website for our existing website and e-commerce site? I would like to know if there is a set-up fee, and what would our monthly fees be. Also, is there a better price for paying for the entire year up front.
Ashley Feit said on February 3, 2012
Noel, we would be happy to discuss a mobile website option for you. You can call us at 1-800-338-1771 and select the first prompt. An agent can help you understand the options available for your site – it’s pretty easy!
Anthony Merrigan said on February 21, 2012
Randomly stumbled across your article. With the advent of smartphones being able to render and display traditional scale web sites perfectly well is there still much of a call for mobile-centric pages?
Ashley Feit said on February 21, 2012
While many smartphones can render and display traditional web sites, many websites are still designed with Flash and other slow-to-load features that aren’t compatible for smartphone viewing. A simple mobile website quickly gives a person on the go the quick information that they are likely looking for, such as hours, phone number, or location in an easy-to-reach format for their phone. Also, key items mobile phone users need are enabled on a mobile website, such as click-to-call functionality and maps that present directions.
Thomas Rice said on March 28, 2012
http://www.digijunction.biz
http://www.digijunction.info
Aren’t these already available on Android and Smartphones?
What is the cost to have them available by keywords, local business search, and other important search methods used by internet mobile phone users?
Alexa said on March 30, 2012
Mobile business concept is good. It is useful and gets more business, but smartphone usage is somewhat difficult to operate on that.
Ashley Feit said on March 30, 2012
Thomas,
Different smartphones have different formats and capabilities. A mobile website is designed to be viewed on most any smartphone without issues. We would be more than happy to discuss the options we have for mobile sites and mobile ad campaigns Please give us a call at 1-800-338-1771.
Larry Jones said on May 27, 2012
Here I am assuming my website comes up mobile because it is the internet. Web.com should be putting all these options in front of the clients, instead of making us search for everything—after all you are the host. Facebook, Twitter, mobile, and any other technology that’s available, we need to be informed about—that’s why we pay you to host.