Updated January 13, 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Is your WordPress website mobile friendly? According to a 2013 comScore report, nearly 40% of Internet traffic is now done via a mobile device. In this post I’ll dig into the mobile trend, where to the find mobile-related data about your website traffic, and suggestions about making your site mobile responsive.
Mobile Trend Upswing
ComScore published their mobile-related research earlier this year. Here are some highlights and how it can impact your business:
- 84% of maps are viewed via mobile. This is why Google+ Profiles for local search is so critical. It doesn’t matter if you’re a retail/consumer-facing business. All businesses can take advantage of Google Local.
- 55% access social networking sites via a mobile device. This puts more pressure on businesses to engage, responding quickly to feedback.
- 38% access retail websites for information. More users are in retails stores using their Smartphones to do price comparisons. Savvy businesses have their product information easily searchable from a small screen.
- 57% listen to music via a smart device. There are real marketing opportunities on music sites like Pandora, Spotify, etc.
- 44% use a mobile device to get sports info. Perhaps this offers a way to reach a niche target audience.
Want to read the report? MarketingLand has a nice synopsis or go directly to comScore. They have a Digital Future In Focus series, including various white papers on different global regions.
Finding a Mobile Audience on Your WordPress Website
This section assumes you have Google Analytics set up properly on your WordPress website. If you haven’t, we strongly encourage you to hire a new Webmaster or learn how as your business is flying blind. Here are the steps to see your WordPress website mobile traffic data:
- From your GA Dashboard, select Audience.
- Choose Mobile Subheading.
- Review the Overview to get a sense of your overall numbers.
- Then dig into Devices for more detail.
We also suggest paying attention to WordPress website data related to: mobile device type, input selector (touchscreen vs. clickwheel) and screen resolution. In the Devices area you can also see a map overlay. This is important for companies with a global reach or those targeting specific geographic regions.
Becoming Responsive
When creating a new WordPress website we only use mobile responsive themes. Why build something new using old technology? If you haven’t made the switch, now is the time. 37% users access the Web via a mobile device. This number is predicted to grow at an even faster rate.
If your site is already on WordPress, becoming mobile responsive is a relatively simple project. Think of WordPress as a mannequin. It’s a basic framework. A theme is like a dress or suit placed over the structure. You might need to make some alterations, tweaking areas so it looks nice and fits your brand. Even so, your investment in the underlying architecture can be used. Unless you haven’t kept up-to-date on WordPress releases. If you’ve got vintage code on your WordPress website, then be ready for a major upgrade.
Responsive WordPress Website Themes
WordPress has several free themes. They have built-in mobile responsive properties. Twenty Ten, Twenty Eleven, Twenty Twelve and Twenty Thirteen are examples of simple looks for small businesses on a tight budget.
Since we’re a WordPress Website developer, we have access to several mobile responsive themes. If you’re technically oriented and know how to dig into code, check out StudioPress’ portfolio. We recommend this series because they offer beautiful designs, rock-solid security, flexible foundational code, and out-of-the-box SEO that we customize for each client installation.
So how will you capitalize on the mobile trend?
photo credit – top: Ginny
photo credit – body: Nationalmuseet – National Museum of Denmark
