Phone Numbers And Your (Mobile) Website

Thanks to law_keven for the picture.

Converting a website from something that will look good on the average laptop, to something that will display quickly and easily on the average phone, means paying attention to a thousand little details. Sometimes simple changes mean significant increases in sales.

For businesses, the primary consideration in designing a site for your market is convenience of use. Bells and whistles might get people to take a look at a website. But if they have to jump through hoops in order to go from prospect to real customer, they'll most likely move on. Some businesses might not even be aware of what they're putting their customers through!

Prominent contact information can only increase sales. The address, email address, and especially the phone number of a business should be easily found. Most websites have this part covered.

And now, more people are browsing the web with mobile phones. That's great, because they can potentially call in directly from the website. But it's necessary to pay attention to a nuanced detail: can prospects call your phone number directly from the website?

Many phones have the ability to recognize a website's phone number. This makes contacting the business especially easy for the user. If they're looking over a website and see something they like, all they have to do is touch (or click) the phone number on the screen. The phone will automatically dial it. Just like that, they go from casual web browser to highly qualified prospect.

However, some sites, in an attempt to dress up the style of their contact information, format the phone number in such a way that the phone can't recognize it. Many modern mobile browsers will recognize a number formatted like "(555) 444-3333". But many won't. And NONE yet recognize "1-800-BUY-IT-NOW", or phone numbers embedded in graphic images. The user selects your number on the screen, and nothing happens.

That might not be a problem if the user is particularly interested in your business, and they have the time and the ability to write down the number. Remember though, that people browsing on their phones are likely to be in a store, walking down the street, or in the middle of their commute. They won't have a pencil and paper handy. They might forget about your site, they might simply move on to your competitors, or they might even be frustrated by the fact that they can't call in, and remember their negative feelings toward your company forever.

Fortunately, any phone number formatting can be turned into a "click to call" link, letting everyone easily call in. It just takes attention to detail. A good mobile web design agency will handle it all for you.

P.S. Contact Mobile Web Up, and have your website's phone numbers, and all the other mobile features, taken care of by professionals. Every little detail helps!