Three Quick Tips When Preparing to Mobilize Your Org’s Website

It’s an amazing statistic – 67% of cell phone owners check their phone for messages, alerts, and calls even if its not ringing or vibrating. Think that’s a lot? How about the study last year that found that the average smartphone user checks his/her phone 34 times a day in checks that typically lasted 30 seconds and done within 10 minutes of the last check? I’m pretty sure that most people reading this are thinking the same as me, “Yup, that’s about right.”

It is somewhat surprising that only 9% of cell phone users say that the internet, email, or apps are the “best thing” about their phones. Yet, analysts expect that in 2015 mobile device web browsing will take the crown from tried and true desktop web browsing. This means that if your nonprofit has not thought about its future on mobile browsers then it’s time to start doing so.

Here are a few quick (and definitely note exhaustive) tips to keep in mind as you plan:

Know Your Visitors

Before you go tearing off to build or retrofit your website, check your website analytics to see if and where visitors are visiting the site from mobile devices. If you are getting heavy traffic via mobile channels, then the urgency to update increases. But pay attention to where they are visiting; on a limited budget this can help you prioritize what parts get updated when or if it is time to move up the site redesign schedule a bit.

Don’t Forget Your Objectives

Your mobile site is there to help your organization achieve its objectives and deliver on its mission – no different than your desktop site. Avoid getting wrapped up in gimmicks or expensive endeavors that don’t provide a clear benefit to your organization or your users.

Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize

Mobile browsing does not necessarily mean less, but it does mean that your organization will need to prioritize how information displays and is revealed to users. Be prepared to make tough decisions and boil each page down to its most essential components.

(If you’re interested in more cool stats and mobile browsing best practices and approaches, check out our latest webinar.)