Mobile-friendly websites: More than just looks

Insurance websites need to be mobile friendly. But being mobile friendly means more than simply creating a site that can be viewed on a smartphone. After all, even websites that are out of date can usually render on a mobile device.

Websites that are not mobile-friendly are difficult to read, hard to use, and many advanced functions don’t work at all. That’s a problem. With mobile searches overtaking desktop searches in recent years, insurance agency owners and marketers should spend more time thinking about the mobile aspect of their insurance websites.

A mobile friendly site incorporates all of the following:

1. It is easy to navigate.

2. The forms in it are easy to use.

3. The website automatically resizes itself appropriately for the mobile device.

4. The videos on the website play correctly on the mobile device.

5. The text is easy to read and resizes as needed.

6. The social media sharing icons are readily available.

7. The site is not a one page site – so it is optimized for SEO.

8. It uses smaller images for a minimalist design and faster loading speeds.

9. There are resources available and these work correctly for the site. For example: a blog, white papers, recorded webinars, etc.

10. The site is developed for substance, function and design.

11. And stay away from “trendy website designs” which may look cool, but are difficult to use.

When agents and brokers review their insurance websites, they need to scrutinize and test it on an iPhone, Android and tablet. Think about the website as if you, the agent or broker, were the client.