“Show me your website,” I said. She had just asked me a question, and I wanted to point something out and explain my answer using her site to illustrate. She flipped open her computer and typed in the URL.

“Wait a minute. Stop!” I commanded. (I’m getting pushy in my old age.) Don’t do it on your computer. Show me on your phone.

“The screen’s too small,” she explained and continued to open the laptop.

That’s when I started the diatribe I’m about to deliver to you now. It’s your turn, so listen up! I’ll say it extra loud because I need to hear it too. I do exactly what I suspect you do. I’m guilty.

Diatribe of the Day

Here’s the thing:

We talk about and think about our websites like they exist on our computers. In our minds, we see them on a big screen. That’s great for visitors using the big screen built into their laptop.

That’s not how most visitors see our sites. They don’t have a big screen.

Most website visitors come to your site on their phone rather than on a laptop or desktop computer.

Google reports that more than 50 percent of overall search volume in the U.S. now comes from mobile devices. People are using their phones for nearly everything, including researching difficult issues and high-end purchases.

More than half the traffic coming to North Carolina Divorce, our family law site, comes on their phones (not tablets, not laptops or desktops—they’re on phones). Our site isn’t unusual. People are using their phones for everything.

When I think about our website in my head, I see it on the larger screen. The reality is that fewer and fewer people see a website in that way.

That’s why I think we should all stop looking at our sites on our computers. We need to use our phones exclusively when we visit our sites. We need to see what most of our visitors see. We need to experience the buttons, the pages, the tools, the videos, the forms, the forums, etc. from the same perspective as our users.

The Best Strategy for Addressing Your Visitors’ Perspective

The only way for us to guide our developers, designers, and marketing team is to, as the software gurus say, “eat our own dog food.” We need to experience what our visitors experience. We need to see it from their perspective. And their perspective is on a tiny screen. That’s the way they come to our site.

My suggestion to you today is that you stop going to your site on your computer. Just don’t go there anymore. Use your phone. See it all from that mobile perspective. See what works and what doesn’t, and feel what your users feel.

Do the videos play? Do the calculators work? Is it easy to create an account and log in? Is it easy to dial your phone number, schedule an appointment, pay you money, ask a question, and get your help? If not, then you know what to do.

If, the site is useful on your phone, then make it more useful. If it’s frustrating, then make it less frustrating. If it’s interesting, valuable, and helpful and it makes a difference in the lives of the visitor, then make it more so. If it’s not, then fix it, and keep looking at it from your phone.