The future of e-commerce is in your customers’ phones

You’ve got a shiny e-commerce website, and it’s working fine — congrats! But here’s the million-dollar question: Is it optimized for today’s thumb-tapping, multitasking mobile shoppers? (Spoiler: probably not.) Believe me, I’ve been there. You think your site’s doing great, but if it’s not playing nice with mobile devices, you’re losing customers faster than you can say “abandoned cart.”

Here’s the thing I learned the hard way: smartphones own the e-commerce world now. I used to think customers would mostly browse on their desktops and maybe dabble on mobile. Nope. Today, mobile devices are the go-to for online shopping. People are scrolling, tapping, and buying on their phones while waiting in line, watching TV, or, let’s be honest, pretending to listen on their Zoom calls.

What this means is that if your website isn’t built with phone users in mind, you’re falling behind. Mobile-first design isn’t just a trend to jump on — it’s essential for your e-commerce business to survive. I used to think, “Oh, I’ll just scale down the desktop version.” Big mistake. That’s how you end up with sites that load like molasses or buttons so tiny you need pinpoint precision to tap them. And let me tell you, nothing sends customers running faster.

If your site isn’t fast, smooth, and easy to navigate on mobile, potential sales will evaporate right in front of you. So trust me on this: mobile-first isn’t optional. It’s essential if you want to keep your customers engaged and out of your competitors’ hands.

Let’s take a look at how you can turn things around and make sure your site is mobile-ready for today’s shoppers.

Mobile-first design tips

The backbone of a truly mobile-first website is responsive design. When your site is responsive, it automatically adjusts to look sharp on any device, whether it’s a pocket-sized phone or a desktop screen the size of a movie theater. Smart design, using flexible grids and CSS media queries, shapes content automatically based on screen size to ensure all the essential pieces are easy to find and use on the specific device your customer is using. (Tip: if you’re on WordPress, it might be time to swap out that old theme for a fresh, responsive one from a reputable company.)

But here’s the kicker — looking good isn’t enough anymore.

Speed is the real MVP. Mobile users have the patience of a toddler with a sugar rush (and trust me, I know this firsthand). If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, you’re already waving goodbye to potential customers. So, compress those images (without turning them into pixelated disasters), minimize unnecessary scripts, and make sure your browser caching is set up to do the heavy lifting. Every millisecond counts. For WordPress users, caching and image-handling plugins will make this simple. If your hosting provider doesn’t already handle caching, check out WP Total Cache or WP Super Cache. And for image optimization, a couple of options I’d suggest would be either to use the image handler in Jetpack or try Ewww Image Optimizer.

And don’t even get me started on touchscreens. Mobile users are tapping their way through your site, so you need to make sure those buttons and links are big enough for human fingers to actually hit. Keep things simple with clean elements like hamburger menus (you know, that three-line icon that keeps everything tidy) to make your site sleek and easy to use. If you’re not sure if you’ve made it easy enough, just hand your phone to a friend or family member and ask them to find items and then add them to their cart. If they struggle to click and navigate, your customers will, too.

These small tweaks? They go a long way in keeping mobile users on your site long enough to hit that “buy” button — and come back for more.

Mobile-friendly payments

Mobile-first design isn’t just about navigating the website, though. Think back to the last time you tried to order something online and had to fish out your credit card and type in all the information. It’s a hassle, isn’t it? If you’re like me, you might just abandon a shopping cart because it’s just not worth the trouble. And if your checkout process is a pain on your own site, your customers are probably doing the exact same thing.

This is why mobile-friendly payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and one-click checkout like Shop Pay from Shopify are game-changers for e-commerce businesses. They make the payment process so smooth and fast that customers can breeze through it. The easier you make it for people to pay, the more likely they are to actually hit that “buy” button. As a bonus, these options come with built-in security features, giving your customers peace of mind that their payment info is safe.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) for small businesses

So far we’ve covered the easy stuff.

If you really want to raise your e-commerce game, you need to look into Progressive Web Apps. As described by Mozilla, a PWA “is an app that’s built using web platform technologies, but that provides a user experience like that of a platform-specific app.” In other words, it’s a website that’s designed to look and work just like an app. Many of them even hide the browser bar, keeping navigation within the site much more seamless and straightforward. 

PWAs are cross-platform rockstars. Like a website, they work on any device — phones, tablets, laptops — you name it. All you need is one codebase, which means less development hassle and lower costs. You don’t have to keep both your website and an app updated. But here’s the kicker: like a traditional app, a PWA can be installed directly on your customer’s device without them having to visit an app store, usually with a link on the website itself. Many run offline, operating in the background, and they can even integrate with other apps on the device. This gives users that smooth, app-like experience they love without the friction of downloads, updates, or the dreaded “Not Enough Space” notification.

One of the biggest perks of PWAs is speed. They load in a flash, even on slower networks. PWAs also often function offline, thanks to scripts called ‘Service Workers’ (code that caches content and keeps your site functioning even without a reliable Internet connection). That means customers can browse your site, add items to their cart, and even place orders, even if they’re offline. Once they connect back to the Internet, the transactions will fly back to your website.

And don’t underestimate the power of push notifications. With a PWA, you can send personalized updates directly to your customers’ devices, whether it’s a flash sale alert, a special discount, or a nudge to complete that abandoned cart. It’s like having a direct line to your customer’s pocket, and it can do wonders for engagement.

Here are a few examples of how PWAs are game-changers: According to e-commerce company Aureate, Rakuten implemented a PWA, which in 2022 boosted visit frequency per user by 310% and saw an increase in conversion rates of 200%. Meanwhile, they describe how Starbucks wanted customers to be able to view their menu and order without having to download the app, and the PWA they built turned out to be faster and significantly smaller than the iOS app.

How a small business can build a PWA

PWAs might sound a bit technical, but trust me, they’re nowhere near as intimidating as building a full-blown mobile app from scratch. If you’ve got a handle on the basics of web development — think HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — you’re already halfway there. Sure, there are a few extra geeky bits to wrap your head around, like Service Workers, Web App Manifests, and ensuring your site runs on HTTPS (secure connections are non-negotiable).

Even if you’re not a coder, you can still use PWAs! There are plenty of plugins and developer-friendly tools available to help ease you into the process, making it much more approachable. There are several free resources out there that can help you master the essentials without turning it into a headache. Mozilla, the folks behind Firefox, have an easy-to-follow intro to the process. Microsoft’s got your back, too, offering a step-by-step tutorial for getting your PWA up and running. So, if you’re willing to invest a bit of time, you’ll be leveling up your site with app-like powers in no time.

Even better, e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce now offer easy PWA plugins, making it simple for small businesses to roll out this cutting-edge technology without the stress of custom development. And if you’re running a WordPress site (using EasyWP for super-speedy hosting, of course!), your life just got even easier. WordPress has a slew of plugins that do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Here are a few to check out: Super Progressive Web Apps, PWA for WP & AMP, and one named simply PWA. 

With all the tools out there, you really have no excuse for ignoring PWAs on your site. 

Optimizing for mobile can supercharge your SEO

Let’s talk about how all of this will help your e-commerce site climb the SEO ladder. 

First up, PWAs offer a huge boost for your SEO. Unlike traditional mobile apps, PWAs are fully indexable by Google. All that fast-loading, user-friendly content gets crawled and ranked just like a regular website. And here’s the kicker: those lightning-fast load times and better user experiences lower bounce rates, which Google loves. Translation: better rankings. I don’t know about you, but this is all I needed to hear. 

But there’s more. Google’s mobile-first indexing means your site’s mobile version is the one that really counts. A responsive design makes sure your site looks great on any device, keeps users engaged, and makes Google smile. Speed matters, too — slow sites send users running, and Google’s not a fan of that.

Now, let’s get into localization. Most mobile searches are local — people are looking for stuff nearby, right now, like a place to grab coffee or where to buy a lawnmower. Optimizing for local SEO, like using city-specific keywords and keeping your Google business profile listing up to date, makes sure you’re front and center when people search for local businesses. It’s how you turn mobile traffic into foot traffic — and more sales.

So, by combining PWAs, mobile-first design, and localization, you’re giving your SEO a serious power-up. You’ll not only make Google happy, but you’ll also keep users engaged and coming back for more.

Future-proof your e-commerce

I hope I’ve convinced you that the future of e-commerce isn’t just mobile-friendly — it’s mobile-first. Trust me, if you want to stay competitive, you’ve got to jump on this bandwagon. Embracing these innovations will do wonders for your user experience, keep your customers engaged, and — most importantly — boost your sales. Now’s the time for small businesses to start exploring mobile-first strategies and PWAs. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll future-proof your site and stay ahead of the competition. Believe me, your customers (and your bottom line) will thank you.

And if you want to ensure your freshly redesigned e-commerce site is safe from cyberthieves, check out our article on how to secure your site,