Mobile devices are increasingly used for shopping and finding local businesses. Most smartphone users search for nearby businesses and take action like contacting them. However, many businesses still have non-mobile friendly websites, missing out on these customers. A good mobile site loads quickly, has simple navigation, and provides contact info and maps. While a desktop site is fine, a separate mobile site optimised for smartphones gives customers what they need on the go.

1. 1

2. Mobile Website
Your Secret Weapon in Gaining a Competitive Advantage
Preface 3
PART 1. Why Your Business Needs a Mobile Website 4
A Brand New Breed of Consumer 5
Mobile-Aided Shopping 7
Mobile Users Going Local 9
How to Boost Your Business’s Reach 10
Non-Mobile Friendly 12
PART 2. Mobile Website in a Nutshell 13
Responsive Website vs. Mobile Site 14
Mobile Site vs. Desktop Website 15
Desktop Website 16
Mobile Site 17
Key Features of a Mobile Site 18
Loading Speed 19
Friendly Navigation 20
Direct Contact 21
Direction & Location Maps 22
Essential Information 23
Go Mobile 24
Sources 25
2

3. 3
Preface
Over the recent years we have been witnessing a dynamic expansion of new technologies. Due to the
convenience that mobile devices have ensured we began to adapt them to completing our daily routines. The
model of a typical consumer has evolved, too. Consumers have changed their purchase behaviors and started
to use smartphone as the primary medium in this process.
In our e-book we aim to highlight and explain the need for small and medium businesses to get ready for
a customer of a new type functioning in a different context than ever before – a mobile consumer. Business
owners keep underestimating the potential of mobile devices and it seems that the lack of knowledge about
their users might be the fundamental problem.
We hope that our e-book will help better understand expectations of mobile consumers, which will let
entrepreneurs achieve their business objectives within the most dynamically developing sales channel.

4. 4
PART 1
Why Your Business Needs
a Mobile Website

5. A Brand New Breed of Consumer
5
Have you noticed how consumers and their
purchase behaviors have changed over the last few
years?
Today consumers have an unlimited access to
information on products and services. Using free tools
available on the Internet they can compare prices and
purchase conditions, verify suppliers, or even create
summaries of similar products. All this to get better
prepared for making a purchase decision. The idea
dates back to 1980, when Alvin Toffler, a futurologist,
coined the term prosumer, contracting two words –
producer and consumer, to describe the emerging type
of proactive consumers. Prosumer, or a typical today’s
consumer, is an active customer comparable to a
professional. The new consumer no longer relies solely
on traditional advertising, but looks for information on
their own initiative.

6. A Brand New Breed of Consumer
When making a purchase decision, they have a broad knowledge of the product and its features, the
competition, as well as other consumers’ opinions. According to 71% of the respondents who participated in
a research carried out by B2B Marketing portal in 2012 – the main source of this information is the Internet.
Is your business’s website ready for the latest revolution among prosumers – a shift towards
mobile devices?
More and more people are resorting to smartphones and tablets for their daily activities. It is predicted that by
2015 more users will be accessing the Internet on mobile devices than on desktop computers. If your strategy
for gaining customers does not account for the behaviors of today’s consumers, you will be losing them month
after month.
6

7. 7
Mobile-Aided Shopping
Consumers increasingly use mobile devices to search for information on products and, as a result, to
make online purchases. This trend has been supported by a number of studies carried out by Google,
among others, which show the great potential of the technological revolution for small and medium
businesses.
We have been witnessing a vast expansion of the mobile network globally. Global mobile traffic increased by
81%1 over the previous year, exceeding 18 times1 the size of the entire global Internet in 2000! It is estimated
that by 2015 more users will be accessing the Internet on mobile devices than on desktop computers. According
to Cisco, by 2018 smartphones will have already accounted for 66%1 of global mobile traffic. As of now 77%2 of
mobile searches take place with the desktop computer being available at hand.
66%
of global
mobile
traffic will
come from
smartphones
by 2018
77%
of mobile
searches take
place near a
computer
24%
of consumers
tell others
about local
businesses
found via
smartphone
81%
increase in
global
mobile
traffic in
2013

8. 8
Mobile-Aided Shopping
Moreover, 77%3 of mobile users aid their
shopping processes with mobile searches.
Smartphone owners use their devices to look
for information on businesses located in their
neighborhood and then call them, check their
location on the map, enter their website, or
even visit the business.
24%3 of local information seekers recommend
businesses and services they find this way to
others, or leave their opinion on the Internet.
Almost 40%3 of these users make a purchase
– either online or in-store. These numbers
show how important it is for SMBs to have an
appropriate mobile website. 66%
of global
mobile
traffic will
come from
smartphones
by 2018
77%
of mobile
searches take
place near a
computer
24%
of consumers
tell others
about local
businesses
found via
smartphone
38%
of mobile
consumers
make
a purchase
from these
businesses

9. 9
Mobile Users Going Local
Smartphones provide us with an easy access to information on
what we can find in the neighborhood. This is why optimizing
businesses’ websites for viewing on mobile devices is crucial for
their potential customers.
An astounding 94%3 of all smartphone users look for businesses
in the vicinity. 84%3 of them take consumer action as a result –
contact the business, visit its office, make a purchase from the
business, or recommend it to others. That is why it is so important
for your website to be mobile friendly and display well on mobile,
as well as enable potential customers to contact your business
directly. As many as 64%3 of people choose this way of reaching
companies after finding local information. When you further
promote your mobile site with location based advertising, you will
take full advantage of the potential that the smartphone gives to
local businesses.
of smartphone users
search for local
businesses 94%

10. How to Boost Your Business’s Reach
Most small and medium business owners do not know how
easy it is today to boost their company’s reach for free.
Since it is the Internet that has nowadays become the main
source of information about businesses, you should make sure
the information about your company is easily accessible via the
Google browser and Google Maps, visited everyday by millions
of users. Google My Business, which is a free service, enables
you to create such a digital business card in minutes. When you
make sure that complete and detailed information about your
business is on the Internet, your customers will easily find you
via the Google browser. Thanks to Google My Business, your
digital business card will appear already in the search results.
10

11. How to Boost Your Business’s Reach
It will contain your business’s contact details, its opening
hours and driving directions, or a link to your website.
Make sure the link redirects to an attractive and functional
mobile site. When your potential customer enters your
website, you will only have a few seconds to persuade them
to try out your services. That is why by creating a mobile site
for your company, you will get fully prepared for a today’s
customer – mobile consumer.
Get a free guide to designing mobile sites.
11

12. 12
Non-Mobile Friendly
A research by Google shows what danger underestimating
mobile users may bring.
An astounding 96%4 of mobile consumers have visited a website
that was not optimized for viewing on a smartphone or tablet.
And the less a website is mobile friendly, the more they are willing
to quit browsing, lose interest in the company, or even totally
abandon the purchase intention.
96%
of mobile users have visited
a website that was not
optimized for viewing on
a mobile device
Check out how many mobile customers you miss out
on every day.

13. 13
PART 2
Mobile Website in a Nutshell

14. Responsive Website vs. Mobile Site
Companies that are preparing for a mobile customer have a hard choice ahead: a responsive website (RWD),
a separate mobile site, or a native application. Which way to go? It is not possible to give a one-for-all answer.
The choice depends on the company’s strategy, complexity of the solution, available budget and programming
resources or, finally, the time that they are ready to wait for a complete solution. Small and medium
businesses that want to reduce costs and prepare for a mobile customer in a matter of days, may well create
a professional mobile version of their website themselves, using ready builders available on the Internet. Using
mobile website builders involves the cost of around €50 a year. Big companies will most probably decide on
professional interactive agencies. The budgets for these solutions will approach several hundred Euros, on
average. The price depends on various factors, such as the complexity of the solution, integration with external
services, or the applied technique.
Not sure which solution is the best for your company? Find out more about the dif-ferences
between a responsive website, a mobile site and a native app.
14

15. Mobile Site vs. Desktop Website
What influence will a mobile site have on your desktop website? A dedicated mobile site is a separate and
independent website, which you automatically redirect mobile device users to.
What does it mean? If someone searches for your company and then opens your website on a mobile device,
or simply enters your www address into the Internet browser of their smartphone or tablet, they will see your
mobile site. Users who open your website the same way on a computer, will see your desktop website. Creating
a new mobile site does not involve rebuilding your desktop website – it is a valuable extension to it. What is more,
each of them can be both created and maintained by a different company.
What is, then, a fundamental difference between a desktop website and a mobile site optimized for
viewing on mobile devices?
15

16. 16
Desktop Website
A desktop website is not suitable for viewing on a smartphone
because:
• it is “heavy” and loads too long on a smartphone
• its navigation is intended for operating with a mouse
• it is uncomfortable to view it on a small smartphone screen (you
need to enlarge and swipe content)
• it is overloaded with content, which makes it difficult to perform
typical “mobile” actions, such as finding the company’s location or
contacting its staff quickly

17. 17
Mobile Site
A mobile site:
• is “light” and loads fast on a smartphone
• its navigation is designed for touch operation
• is optimized for viewing on a smartphone screen
• and oriented on mobile users’ actions – it is equipped
with tappable phone numbers or driving directions

18. Key Features of a Mobile Site
The reasons for a shift from standard solutions to mobility are quite evident. Smartphones and tablets are irre-placeable
when it comes to immediate access to information. Mobile users can connect to the Internet almost
anywhere – in a traffic jam, on a bus, or in a queue.
What are, then, the key features of a good mobile site from this perspective?
• loading speed
• friendly navigation
• direct contact
• direction & location maps
• essential information
Learn all features that consumers want on
your mobile site.
18

19. On average a desktop website loads 10 seconds on a
19
Loading Speed
Mobile users demand high loading speed. Most of them expect a website to load within 3 seconds on their
device. Otherwise they will leave and, what is worse, they will not return to it. If you do not have a website
optimized for viewing on mobile devices, it may take even half a minute for your desktop website to load on
a mobile device. During this time your potential customers will close your website and you will miss out on new
clients. This is why in the first place you should make sure your website loads in a matter of seconds.
10s smartphone5
Google recommends that mobile sites should render
in under 1 second6
1s

20. 20
Friendly Navigation
Navigation is as important as the loading speed
of the mobile website. Mobile users should be
able to perform the most important actions
from the level of the homepage and reach
essential content from every single page.
It is a good practice to place a “Back” button both at
the bottom of the subpages and in their upper part.
We also need to remember that mobile users tap
the screen with their fingers, so another good
practice is to use larger buttons. It is recommended
to design buttons at least 45 - 47 pix high.
Scan to open on a smartphone

21. 21
Direct Contact
A well-designed mobile website enables direct contact with a local
business.
By adding “click-to-call” and “click-to-sms” buttons on your mobile site you will
make sure your potential customers will be able to contact you at a single
finger tap. Whereas by placing a contact form you will let them quickly ask
questions about products and services they may be interested in. Thanks to
these solutions your customers will contact you whenever they find your offer
attractive.
Scan to open
on a smartphone

22. 22
Direction & Location Maps
The majority of modern mobile devices are
equipped with a built-in GPS system.
Therefore, by integrating your mobile website with
services supporting maps, you can guide your potential
customer straight to your door. How to do this? Today
you can enrich mobile sites with maps providing driving
directions from any location right to your business.
Attracting customers has never been that easy!
Scan to open
on a smartphone

23. 23
Essential Information
Mobile consumers look for specific information.
The type of content that is desirable on large
screens may be perceived merely as additional
information on smaller devices.
To avoid excessive amount of content, what you
should do on mobile websites is highlight only
essential information and hide longer descriptions
under headings that expand only after a user
interested in learning the details taps it. Scrolling
down a lengthy page is inconvenient for mobile
users and hinders quick access to essential
information, which discourages users from staying
on the website.
Scan to open on a smartphone

24. 24
Go Mobile
We have presented sound reasons why you should adjust your business’s website to the needs of mobile
device users. A desktop website is no longer enough.
Today you can create a professional mobile website yourself, in a few minutes. Online builders available on the
market allow anyone with an access to the Internet to quickly create a website on their own. Working with such
builders involves actions that we are all familiar with from programs like Word and does not require advanced
computer or programming skills. It turns out that modern technology does not necessarily involve technical
knowledge and might be an inexpensive solution, affordable for any business owner.
Do not wait until your competitors take away customers right from your doorstep – go mobile! Mobile sector is
the future, therefore if your small or medium business is to survive, you need to adjust it to the new digital reality.

25. 25
Sources
1. Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2013-2018, February 2014, Cisco
2. Mobile Search Moments Study, March 2013, Google
3. Our Mobile Planet: United States of America – Understanding the Mobile Consumer, May 2013, Google
4. What Users Want Most from Mobile Sites Today, September 2012, Google Think Insights
5. Global Site Speed Overview: How Fast Are Websites Around The World?, April 2012, Google Analytics
6. Common mistakes in smartphone sites, Google Developers

26. A quick and simple way to start selling mobile websites under your own brand or create a mobile website for
your business.
Web design agencies, developers, and marketing teams use ActiveMobi white label platform to create and
sell mobile websites to small and medium businesses.
Business owners may create a mobile website themselves using the DIY builder or have a professional site
created by ActiveMobi’s team of designers in up to 5 days.
www.activemobi.com
26