The short answer to your question is, yes, you need a mobile-friendly website.

Back in February 2015, Google announced that it intended to change its search algorithm to more fully support the increase in mobile and tablet use by consumers. This means that websites that are not optimised for mobile or other devices, will more than likely see an impact in their website traffic from the date the algorithm changes.

Why is Google doing this?

Why is water wet? Google can do pretty much anything it wants to their platform but the leading cause behind most of their changes is to improve the customer experience. Given the worldwide trend of mobile and tablet usage is only going to continue to increase in the coming years, Google are likely ensuring that their platform responds to market needs for quick, easy and readable search results.

How will the change work?

Google uses a series of ranking signals to help populate your search results based on different factors. From April 21, it intends to place a greater priority on mobile-friendly websites that are optimised for mobile and other devices to help consumers get more relevant and high-quality search results.

What if my website isn’t mobile or tablet friendly?

You are, of course, more than entitled to leave your website as it is and not make it a mobile-friendly website. The impact from this decision though will mean a gradual decrease of traffic to your website in favour of competitors who may be optimised and therefore rank higher in Google’s search results.

How much will it cost to make a mobile-friendly website?

This is a tricky question and doesn’t really have a firm answer. It depends on the type of website you have, how large your site is and various other factors which will play into the cost.

Most developers and companies will provide an obligation-free quote tailored to your business when asked and should be able to show you how long it will take to implement. If you don’t have a decent budget on hand, many theme websites these days are optimised for multiple devices and can be a good alternative to a fully custom-coded website.

Conclusion

Making sure you have a mobile-friendly website is in the best interest of your business. Failing to update will cost you traffic to your website, lose you potential customers and potentially alienate some of your existing customers as well if your competitors have updated their website. All of our websites are customised for mobile and other devices as part of our services.

If you’d like to discuss updating your website, you can always contact us at hello@wiild.com.au