The mobile revolution is gaining speed.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported today on a new study from com.Score that shows that more than 13% of webpage visits this past August were made on a tablet or mobile phone. That means that one in eight page views now comes through mobile platforms.
Doesn't seem like that much? Well, just consider that mobile viewing has more than doubled from just a year ago. That certainly squares with recent data from Pew Research that half of U.S. adults now connect to the Internet with a smartphone or a tablet and more than 60% of them access news on their smart devices at least weekly.
Nonprofits certainly need to respond to this trend by making their websites more mobile friendly. The Chronicle has some excellent suggestions in its recent article, Charities Retool Their Web Sites as More Supporters Go Mobile (subscription required).
Some tips from that article include:
- simplifying your website so that it is easier to read on mobile devices and to take actions, such as donating.
- investing in a separate website just for mobile or in technology that automatically reformats your site depending on the device being used to access it.
- prioritizing mobile access of your main website before creating specialized apps.
Mobile Site vs. Full Site, from Jakob Nielsen, explores some of the options too, suggesting that mobile sites can't be cut to the bone or users will be disappointed, but can't include so much that usability is poor on the smaller phones and tablets.
About.com's Guide to Web Design also explores the line between not enough content on the mobile version of your website and too much. She suggests, among other things, "Don't put your navigation first, even if that's where it is on your main page. If you make the navigation too small it won't be usable, and if it's too large that will be all some mobile users see when they first download the page."
Clearly, for nonprofits, the move to a mobile-friendly website will need to be a collaboration between the tech and content folks. That will work for larger nonprofits that have resources in each camp. It may be more difficult for small organizations that are doing well just to get a regular website up.
What is your charity doing to meet the mobile challenge? What are the particular challenges for small organizations, and what resources are out there to address them?
Read More
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Photo: Getty Images
Comments
I saw that article as well from the Chronicle of Philanthropy just this monring. After reading it, I began thinking about the fact that I’ve seen a larger uptick in mobile browser views over the past six months than prior. Just yesterday I was looking at a small nonprofit’s website and astounded that 10% of the views were from a mobile device.
Thanks for offering sound advice, and great resources as well, for optimizing your site for mobile and walking that line between a full site and mobile site. I’ll be sharing this with nonprofits!
@askdebra
Thanks so much for your comments, Debra. That is a big uptick in mobile. I always worry about how small orgs cope with all the changes that require some know how to keep up with…from SEO to social media, and now mobile.
We’ve been working on a mobile solution for non-profits here in the UK.
Sadly many charities / non-profits have seen it as a low priority; many consider making the donation button on their websites bigger and clearer to be not worth the investment.
If mobile is considered as another browser – and at 10% or more it definitely is – then many organisations would say they want to be mobile friendly.
As it is, mobile is often considered as something that other people use – or that no-one will use it for their sites.
Hopefully non-profits will find that a little investment in making anything easier for users will have a benefit – whether for mobile or in general.
Thanks for chiming in, Dan! Unfortunately, many people just don’t take action on new tech until the wolf is at the door. But I also empathize with people in many nonprofits where the demands are huge and the staff and resources are often short.
I am a local internet marketing consultant working with a non profit to increase their visibility online, improve their website usability and optimization and increase their donor membership and ultimately their donations.
Since becoming a consultant a couple of years ago, my vertical has been small and medium local businesses but this non profit is one that I have a personal connection to and have wanted to contribute to in a more meaningful way than a monetary donation for many years.
As an internet marketer, all of the points you make are routine for me but I am so happy to find this information as it will help this organization to wrap their brains around what I have been gently guiding them to.
I can now show them another source of credible information to bolster my case for optimizing their site, adding a mobile site on a sub-domain, including a mobile donation portal and everything else that needs to happen in order for them to be where they will be easily found. And You Tube for Non Profits? Oh yes. I promise to just be quiet and let them accept this with no gloating or I told you so from me.
The work they do is so needed and I am thrilled to have this information to share with them.
You just gave me the final puzzle piece to hand to them.
Thank you!
Next, to get them subscribed to your newsletter!
Thanks for the kind comment, Julie. I’m glad my post is helpful and best of luck in your mission. Also, I can use more subscribers any time