I’ve been writing a lot about mobile marketing and optimization lately primarily because of it’s importance in the search landscape. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you can be missing out on a lot of valuable traffic. But while I have a mobile-first philosophy when it comes to web design (not to be confused with mobile only), I maintain a healthy respect for desktop marketing. Why? Because it still matters!
Mobile is an addendum to the desktop/laptop computer. Scratch that. Desktop is an addendum to the mobile device. However, the desktop has not been replaced, and we are still years away from that happening. As long as a significant chunk of website visitors are using desktop computers, we cannot forsake desktop design, optimization and marketing.
Failure to address the needs of your desktop users is only slightly less detrimental than failing to address the needs of your mobile users. And in fact, when it comes to conversions, desktop still reigns. Many internet searchers move between mobile and desktop devices, continuing their research and, ultimately, converting more frequently on the desktop.
As things are, desktop users don’t need mobile to complete their tasks. But many mobile users still need the desktop to survive. Even if your website can handle a start-to-finish mobile experience, that’s not always the preference of mobile users. Forsaking mobile only means forsaking mobile users. But as of right now, forsaking desktop users forsakes both at the same time.