Our mobile-phones have changed drastically throughout the years, at this point, there is almost nothing your mobile device can’t do that your computer or camera can do. We have become so accustomed to using our mobile devices rather than computers that they have become our go-to for everything no matter who you are or where you are. That is why it is important to take advantage of these times by being up to date on the latest trends happening within the mobile environment so that your business can grow and progress alongside with it. That being said let’s take a look at what I believe to be the latest mobile trends to look out for in 2018!
Progressive Web Apps Trending
So you may be thinking to yourself, what is a Progressive Web App (PWA)? According to an article by How-To Geek, PWAs are not like a regular Chrome app you download from the app store, that requires the app to be packaged as a “file” and sent into the app store. “Instead, PWAs are never packaged into an offline file. Like the traditional web apps we use today, they’re hosted entirely on the application’s servers. If a developer wants to update their progressive web app, they update it exactly like they would update the web app—on their servers. All platforms and browsers that support PWAs can use the same Progressive Web Apps. The app will load quickly and will include offline support, push notifications, background syncing support, and other modern goodies.” So basically this means you can essentially “download” a website onto your phone as an “app” so that it gives the appearance, reliability, speed and engaging experience of a mobile app but is actually a regular webpage.
According to the infographic on Bizness Apps, by 2020 progressive web apps will have replaced 50 percent of general purpose consumer-facing mobile apps, therefore making it on my list of top mobile trends to watch out for!
Optimizing For Mobile Speed
This is a mobile trend that not everyone takes advantage of but definitely should. We’ve all been there, waiting impatiently for the loading screen to go away so that you can get what you are looking for and then deciding to try a different website because your first choice took a few seconds to long to open for you. According to an iMPACT article, “optimizing your site nowadays is more than just cleaning up your site’s code. It also means paying attention to the loading speed.
Research by Research shows says that if a page takes more than three seconds to load, the bounce rate rises to 53 percent. Additionally, if a pages load time goes from one second to five seconds, the bounce rate goes up by 90%.” Meaning that the longer your website takes to load the more visitors and possible future conversions you lose.
Understand “Mobile-First Indexing”
If you’re not familiar with how Google ranks their websites, that’s a whole big topic that can be dived into in another blog post, what’s important to note for now is that based on a number of different factors Google determines who ranks and shows on that first page for both organic and paid search results.
Mobile-first indexing simply means that from those factors that Google ranks you by, Mobile-first is the first. As a MOZ article said it, “this means that the mobile version of your website becomes the starting point for what Google includes in their index and the baseline for how they determine rankings.” That being said, it is not the only point that Google takes into account but keep in mind that if you lack a mobile-friendly experience it could affect your ranking on the search results negatively and the farther down you are on the google page the less likely people will visit your website. I mean who here has ever gone to the SECOND page of your Google search results? Point made.
According to Google’s own latest guidance on the topic, if your website’s mobile version is at least identical to its desktop version, you might not have to worry about anything but it definitely doesn’t hurt keeping this trend in mind.
Here are some of the main characteristics to include for a mobile-optimized site:
- Quick page loads speeds
- Buttons that are easy to select on smaller screens
- No zooming or side scrolling for mobile usability
- Photos and text that appear in the correct places
Artificial Intelligence Prominence
AI or otherwise known as Artificial Intelligence has had a growing presence on the web and mobile realm for a while now. This isn’t a surprise when you think about it, we as humans want to make things as easy for us as possible, that’s why there is Siri, that’s why there is Amazon Alexa and that’s why virtual assistants are appearing more on your websites.
According to the infographic on Bizness Apps Tractica Project research predicts that a virtual digital assistant will be on more than 3.3 billion devices by 2020 and 80 percent of all marketing executives predict artificial intelligence will revolutionize marketing by 2020. So if this mobile trend is in your budget it is definitely something to keep in mind for your growing business!
Livestream It!
Love it or hate it Stacie selling her jewelry on the facebook live feature has the right idea and is on the right track in the marketing world. Livestream is just as it sounds, a live video of yourself or whatever you want it to be where people can watch it as you are making it, they can also comment and interact with the video as it is happening.
According to the infographic on Bizness Apps Facebook reports that users spend more than 3x more time watching a live video than a static one. It also said that the possibilities of incorporating Livestream as part of a wider campaign are huge and that by 2019, video will account for 78 percent of the worlds mobile data traffic. If that doesn’t classify it as a mobile trend I don’t know what does.
AR and VR Are Virtually Taking Over
We’ve all started to see virtual reality slowly creep up more and more into today’s society and there’s a reason for that. Besides offering an opportunity for really cool games, it also offers the opportunity for marketers to immerse their audience into the world of what they are trying to sell them and what can be more powerful than physically taking someone to the product? You can incorporate AR and VR into the mobile experience, making it a top mobile trend of 2018. According to the infographic on Bizness Apps experts predict that by 2021 AR and VR will generate $67.3 billion in revenue vs the 2.3 billion in 2016. That kind of revenue increase is not something to ignore.
That’s It!
These were just some of the few I felt were most important to note but are surely not the only trends emerging in today’s society so do your best to stay up to date when you can because knowing where the mobile trends are headed will only help you keep your business relevant and at the top. Let us know in the comments of any of your favorite trends you’ve noticed in 2018!
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