I read this slogan not long ago and realized how really true and succinct it is. Although office workers use desktop, and surf while they are taking a break, the majority of web surfing is done on cell phones. Everywhere and anywhere, you see people looking down at their phone. But, what are they actually doing? Here are the top ten cell phone activities, surveyed by the Pew Research Center:
- Taking a picture
- Sending or receiving email
- Sending or receiving text messages
- Accessing the internet
- Recording video
- Downloading apps
- Looking for medical information
- Online banking
Predictions were made as to when mobile would take over and surpass desktop. comScore published this graphic, showing early 2014 as that point in time. In millions.
So what does this mean to business owners who have websites that are not optimized for mobile? It means they need to pay attention and update their site to be responsive as soon as possible. Not doing so will result in lost potential customers.
One option: create a mobile version of their site. But, It may be worth investing the time and money to create a new site. The money spent on creating a mobile version could be used to replace the site with a theme that has built in responsiveness.
At Perugi Design we use the Elegant Themes collection which includes several themes that automatically create the mobile and tablet versions. Their premier theme, Divi, enables the designer/developer to design for each version. Unlike custom mobile designs that can be pricey, Divi’s software is updated several times a year and will always be in sync with WordPress upgrades.
So keep in mind, The Internet is not dead, It’s Mobile.