Too Many Charities Still Not Mobile Friendly Test

One year on from the Civil Society’s first fundraising charity website survey that revealed that one in three of the top 100 were not mobile friendly, this year’s survey shows that one in six are still not mobile friendly according to Google’s online mobile friendliness testing tool – see https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Why Is Mobile Friendly Important?

As identified in Ofcom’s 2015 Communication report the UK is now a ‘smartphone society’ where over two thirds of adults have a smartphone (90% of 16 to 24 year olds), and where we spend twice as long online with our smartphones than on laptops and PCs. Google’s own figures (U.S.) show that 94% of people with smartphones now search for local information on their phones, and that 77% of mobile searches occur at home or at work i.e. places where there is desktop PC. A simple check of the stats for any website with a reasonable number of visitors can now be expected to show that the majority of visitors will come via mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Big Names

The names of the charities from the top 100 whose websites are still failing the Google Mobile Friendly Test have been posted on the civilsociety.co.uk website and include Christian Aid, Barnardo’s, Arthritis Research UK, Sense and Mencap.

On The Way

Even though the figures of one in six still not being unfriendly is too high the published comments from top charity fundraising website representatives to the Civil Society indicate that the process to becoming mobile friendly is well underway for many. Blind Veterans UK, Guide Dogs, and Mencap charities for example have all indicated that newly designed mobile friendly websites that are responsive on all devices are on course to be launched this summer. Mobile friendly websites are also a way in which organisations can improve the accessibility of their content for all.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?

All the evidence shows that most people already use their mobile devices to access website content and it is a trend that is set to continue. Not having a mobile friendly website in 2016 is likely to mean losing out on donations. Dedicated users of mobile devices can be reached quickly and can respond immediately which makes them an important group for charity fundraisers to reach out to.

Making a charity fundraising website as mobile friendly as possible means that it will attain better mobile search engine rankings, load quickly, and increase the chances of conversion. A mobile friendly website will also provide a much better experience to today’s website visitors, provide some great opportunities for engagement e.g. with mobile-specific features and specific phone apps, and project a positive and up-to-date image and brand identity. It can also provide charity fundraisers with an important competitive advantage allow interaction and integrate with offline media e.g. QR codes, and it can give advantages with local searches by utilising location-aware technology e.g. to add value to local fundraising event management.

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