If your business has a website, but it’s not mobile-enabled, you’re missing out.

Anyone with a smartphone knows how annoying it is when you’re browsing the internet on your phone and get stuck on a site that’s designed to be viewed on a desktop computer.

You have to zoom in to see the aspects of the site you need, it’s hard to click on the right spots and it’s generally really cumbersome to use.

More New Zealanders now have a smartphone than a non-smartphone.

It’s been predicted that by 2018, 90% of Kiwis will have one. A recent survey found that half of them mainly use their phones to regularly engage with mobile media. More than half use their mobile to find shops, 31% compare prices and 28% of New Zealanders aged between 15 and 65 have made a purchase via their smartphone. Google has announced that it will now make it clear in its search results which websites are “mobile-friendly” so it will be easier for consumers to avoid the sites that won’t display well on the device that they are using.

This means, if you’ve been keeping your head in the sand, ignoring the need for a mobile version of your website, now is the time for action.

If you’re in business and want customers to be able to quickly access your details on the go – such as checking the address of your restaurant or the phone number of your hair salon to make a booking – or make a purchase from you whenever or wherever they want to, a mobile website is vital.

Whether you already have a website or are in the process of developing one, talk to a web designer about setting up a mobile version. It is usually very inexpensive compared to the value it will add.

The website can be set up so it is responsive – if someone is browsing from a desktop, they’ll see a version that’s designed for that computer. If they’re on their phone or tablet, it will automatically adjust.

Look for a developer who has had experience with responsive web design and has worked with other desktop sites to transform them into mobile versions. It’s always worth asking for examples of earlier work. Mobile sites should have a focus on speed, so no one has to sit around waiting too long for the page to load.

If you’re not sure if your site is already mobile-friendly, Google offers a mobile-friendly test.