Mobile-Friendly vs. Mobile-First: Which one is better?

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In 2016, for the first time in history, the use of mobile devices to access the internet surpassed desktop access. This fact highlights the growing importance of having a Mobile-Friendly or Mobile-First approach to respond more efficiently to the increasing use of smartphones for online information consumption.

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Did you know that about 92.3% of users access the Internet through their cell phones?

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Although previously the computer was the most used device to search for information or even to make online purchases, in the current digital landscape, mobile is the master of the internet, with a perspective to represent 44% of all online sales until 2024. 

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It's very simple, look at your own behavior, what device did you use to make your last online purchase or to search for information quickly?

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Read on to find out more about Mobile-Friendly and Mobile-First approaches and the advantages associated with each!

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‍Mobile-friendy Website

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This is by no means a foreign concept to most people working with online businesses. The increasing use of smartphones has forced website developers and graphic designers to create versions of websites that are optimized for mobile devices. 

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Mobilde-friendly refers to a responsive website that adapts to all types of devices. These are typically websites developed for larger screens, where elements are altered through styling techniques to fit the size of the screen on which they will be viewed. They are not websites with an excellent user experience on smartphones, since this is not the main concern behind their design. 

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Among the advantages of this approach, we can highlight:

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• Versatility - as they adapt to different screen sizes and devices, allowing businesses to reach wider audiences without the need for device-specific customization.
• Cost efficiency - adapting a website from desktop to mobile typically involves less time and cost compared to creating a website or app from scratch.
• SEO benefit - one of the key factors taken into account by search engines is the responsiveness of the website on mobile devices. Having a mobile-friendly website increases the chances of it appearing at the top of search results (SERP's) leading to increased visibility and organic traffic.

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‍Mobile-first website

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A mobile-first website is always responsive, but a responsive website is not always mobile first.

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The mobile-first approach, as the name suggests, is to design the website first for mobile devices and then scale it to larger screens. This concept depends on the type of website you are developing, whether it is more oriented to mobile devices and to improve the user experience on those devices, focusing on understanding how people interact with mobile devices.

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In this way, the mobile-first design pays special attention to everything that is clickable. Buttons and hyperlinked sections are larger and list items are more widely spaced, content is simpler, to make life easier for those who use smartphones to access the site. 

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Among the advantages of this approach, we can highlight:

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• Improved mobile experience, by focusing primarily on designing for mobile, businesses are able to optimize the user experience, specifically for those accessing via mobile. This approach emphasizes simplicity, intuitive navigation, and faster loading times, improving engagement and conversions.
• Improved performance, this approach is usually associated with a simpler, more efficient website structure, forcing companies to focus on the essentials, reducing page size, and optimizing load times. 
• To prepare for the future, as the use of mobile devices increases, it is essential to adopt approaches that focus on these devices, allowing companies to increase their effectiveness. By prioritizing the unique characteristics of mobile devices, organizations will be able to stay ahead of the curve and prepare their digital presence for the future.
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But what's better, Mobile-Friendly or Mobile-First?

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When it comes to choosing between these two approaches, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

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The choice is dependent on several factors such as audience, market, and business objectives. However, given the rapid growth in mobile device usage, it is essential that companies optimize their websites to be accessed via mobile.

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While the mobile-friendly approach offers greater versatility and cost benefits, the mobile-first approach, on the other hand, provides an enhanced mobile experience and future-proofing advantages.

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Ultimately, the decision should be based on understanding your users' preferences, their behaviors, and the specific needs that your business will address.

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The key is to know very well who is going to use your website and for what!

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In some developing countries, where fixed internet infrastructure is less developed, people tend to use mobile devices more often to access the internet. This has resulted in the emergence of the term "Mobile-Only" to describe this reality. 

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An example of the implementation of this concept in social reality is Instagram. This social network was developed for exclusive use on cell phones and is only now being thought of for desktops.

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To be successful in the current landscape, where there is a clear preference of users for mobile devices, it is essential to invest in a responsive design that provides an optimized response to users' needs. 

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Whether you opt for a mobile-friendly or mobile-first design, the end goal should always be the same: to provide a good user experience across all devices.

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If you are interested in finding out more about the world of websites, we recommend that you complement your reading with our blog article: Fun and Fascinating Facts about Websites.‍

7 Common Digital Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

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Today, Digital Marketing is completely essential for the success of any activity. With the increasing expansion of online businesses, it is no longer enough just to have a digital communication, it is mandatory to have a well-structured action plan.

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However, even the most experienced marketers can make some mistakes that could negatively impact their strategies. Keep reading this article to check if you are making any mistakes and how you can correct them!

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Mistake 1: You don't know who your audience is

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If you recall, one of the first steps in creating a communication plan is defining the target audience. However, in practice, this step is often ignored, which can lead to mistakes in the strategies developed.

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To avoid these unnecessary mistakes, it is important to dedicate some time to research. Gather psychological, behavioral, and sociological data on your potential customer and develop a Buyer Persona, a fictitious profile that personalizes your ideal consumer. 

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Assign as many characteristics as possible, and you can even create a life story and a buying context for this character. The aim is to clearly understand the characteristics, needs, and preferences of your audience. 

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This strategy will help you create more segmented campaigns that will generate better results.

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Mistake 2: You don't have a blog section on your website

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Blog pages are frequently seen as unnecessary on a website, however, their potential goes far beyond what you can imagine.

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Blog pages allow you to share articles that, even if they are not implicitly selling anything, can help your potential customers in their decision-making. 

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Besides, they are an excellent way to give credibility to your business. By addressing issues related to your industry in the articles you will be showing that you are an expert in the field, that you are reliable, and that you can clarify any doubts of your consumers. You will also be providing important information to Google's crawlers about your business and area of activity, making their process of indexing your pages easier. 

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If your articles are of quality and appeal to many users, Google will consider you an expert in the field and push you to the top of the search page.

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Mistake 3: You don't use e-mail marketing to communicate with your clients

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There are several marketers who are unaware of the advantages that an e-mail marketing strategy can bring to their business. 

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Contrary to what many people think, email is not an obsolete channel, quite the contrary. According to a HubSpot report, email marketing generates about 38 dollars for every dollar invested, which makes it one of the marketing channels with the highest ROI (Return on Investment).

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With an email marketing strategy, you can maintain regular communication and create a closer connection with your customer. In addition, you can send special offers and relevant information, keeping them always updated about your business and your products or services. 

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Mistake 4: Still undervaluing social networks

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If you want to keep your company competitive, social networks are certainly the right channel to invest your time and money. 

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An average user spends around 2 hours and 25 minutes a day on social media, which equals approximately 35% of their total internet usage time. Do you really want to leave your business out of that channel?

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Social media is an excellent opportunity to generate leads, create brand awareness and build customer loyalty. Not being present on this channel is a weakness for your business and could be preventing you from gaining more customers.

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Mistake 5: You're not optimizing for mobile

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Our mobile phones have become so important to our lives that it's almost impossible to imagine a day without them. Therefore, it is essential that websites and marketing strategies are optimized for mobile devices.

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Failure to recognize the importance of mobile can lead to lost sales and opportunities. It's crucial to ensure your website and marketing campaigns are optimized for mobile devices. This means using responsive design, creating content adapted to be consumed via mobile, and optimizing your campaigns for mobile platforms.

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‍Mistake 6: You are more focused on acquisition than retention 

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Customer retention is just as (or more) important than customer acquisition! 

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It's common for marketers to focus more on acquiring new leads than retaining existing customers. However, building customer loyalty is essential to the long-term success of your business. 

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Not only is it more expensive to acquire new customers, but loyal customers are more likely to recommend your brand to other consumers, acting as a free new customer acquisition strategy. 

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Therefore, it is essential to develop customer retention strategies and build long-lasting relationships with customers.

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Mistake 7: You don't analyze the results achieved with your strategies

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A digital marketing strategy should always be data-driven, and it is essential to measure the results of each campaign. 

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Without data analysis, there is no way to know whether the strategy worked or not, so it is indispensable to set clear objectives and metrics that allow you to evaluate the success of the actions implemented. 

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By defining precise goals and metrics, you will be able to identify opportunities for improvement and make more informed decisions, as well as understand, for example, the channels where you were most successful, the designs that your audience likes the most, or even the publishing times that generated the most engagement.

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Have you made Bingo?

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If you are making some mistakes as mentioned, don't worry, you still have time to improve! 

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Digital marketing is a complex field, and even the most experienced professionals can make some slip-ups. 

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To avoid these errors, it is crucial to always be up-to-date with the latest trends and changes in the digital world, to offer relevant content and effective campaigns that will boost your business not only in 2023, but for years to come.

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If you found this blog article interesting, we're sure you'll enjoy reading this one on Social media in 2023: the good, the bad, and the WTF. 😉

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Fun and Fascinating Facts about Websites

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It is no secret that in the digital age we live in, it is virtually impossible for a business to survive and thrive without a website. 

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Websites can serve a number of purposes such as getting your brand, products, and/or services known to a wider audience, selling your products quickly and effectively, or simply conveying credibility and security to your target audience.👌

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But, have you ever stopped to think about the fascinating peculiarities and facts that revolve around the creation and use of a website? We can tell you that there are a plethora of them, but we leave you here only the most interesting ones. 👇

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Did you know that: 79% of users scan the website?

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The Nielsen Norman Group found, in a survey conducted with several users, that only 16% of them actually read the website text. Incredible! 😱

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This discovery, somewhat concerning the amount of time users spend reading the information, further highlights the importance of including:

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• Relevant keywords
• Catchy titles
• Lists and bulleted information
• Shorter sentences grab users' attention and keep them on for a few seconds longer on your website.

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If your website text is not properly formatted to allow for quick and easy reading, users will become frustrated, leading to the early abandonment of your page to move on to the next search result. This could mean the loss of a potential sale for your business. 📉

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Good quality graphics, links, and relevant content are some factors that could help you keep users on your website longer.

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So, take a look at your content again and try to understand, from a user's point of view, if your copy is engaging or needs to be optimized to offer a better experience.

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Did you know that: ⅔ of users use mobile devices to access websites?

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Smartphones are our little pocket computers. 📲 From online shopping, and restaurant and flight bookings, to managing emails, meetings, and other communications, mobile phones are used for many more tasks than just phone calls, which they were created for.

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So it is very important that you understand if your website is optimized for mobile access to be able to offer a much more dynamic and user-friendly experience. Some companies even choose to adapt their websites to mobile applications.

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Did you know that: 72% of users trust both reviews from other customers and recommendations from people they know?

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More and more users research relevant and credible information before deciding to make a purchase. Consumers are increasingly informed and not only look for information about the products they want to buy but also want to read reviews from sources they consider trustworthy.

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And who better to give an honest opinion than someone who has already tried the product? 🧐

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So if you have an online business, look to highlight your customer reviews on the website. The design of the pages should highlight user reviews and allow your visitors to check the rating score. Don't forget to include a link to each user's individual reviews on the product page, so visitors can learn more about their experience.

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Don't underestimate the power of reviews in your potential customers' buying decisions! 😁

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Did you know that: 47% of users expect website loading time to be no more than 2 seconds?

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Time is money and users are not willing to wait for you! ⏰

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Google knows very well that users are increasingly impatient, so they have set as one of their factors to prioritize or disadvantage websites the time it takes them to load. 

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When a potential customer enters your website, they expect the content to load almost automatically. If the page takes too long to open or stalls frequently, he will move on to the next result, dragging your website to the depths of the search engine, i.e. the second page. ☠️

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So pay close attention to your website's loading speed and the factors that might be contributing to an increase in it. Make sure it is below 2 seconds. Otherwise, you risk being switched to your competitor with a more functional site. 😬

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‍Did you know: the lifespan of your website is only 3 years?

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The digital world is constantly changing. From hardware to software, absolutely every aspect of digital undergoes profound changes in a matter of years, and these changes will obviously have an impact on your website.

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It's not enough to create a website to sell your products/services. You have to make recurrent investments in it. Whether it's time, content review, page optimization, SEO strategy development, or money, software upgrades, improved access and graphics, etc.

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If your website was launched more than 3 years ago, consider upgrading it with the new technologies developed that will offer a better experience to your users. 🆙

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Currently, developing technologies like Artificial Intelligence, IoT, and Blockchain has already started impacting websites, requiring their creators to develop new skills. 🤖

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Did you already know any of these facts we presented to you?

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Developing a website is a complex, yet fascinating task. It involves a variety of technical, creative, and strategic elements. From choosing the right platform to search engine optimization. Every detail matters and every aspect will have a direct influence on your future sales. 📈

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We hope that these facts have left you fascinated and that, at the same time, they help you understand a little better the importance of some components of your website and how your business can benefit from them. 

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If this is a topic that interests you, we recommend complementing this reading with our blog article on Healthy SEO Habits. 😉

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