Why Should Car Dealers Prioritise Their Mobile Website Design?

Car dealer websites can be packed full of features for today’s online buyers who expect convenience at their fingertips, giving them the ability to easily carry out custom stock searches, apply for finance, and reserve their desired vehicle, all without making a single phone call or visiting a dealership.

Allowing customers to carry out so much of the car buying process on your website is key to driving your online car sales, so with stats showing that more than half of car dealer website traffic now takes place on a mobile device, prioritising mobile design has never been more important for a modern car dealer website – ensuring your website provides a seamless mobile experience is crucial.

At first glance, it may appear that your website is already fully mobile responsive and there is no need for concern, but a closer look could reveal areas for improvement. You could find that there are content issues unique to your business which works perfectly on desktop but actually doesn’t translate as well when viewed on a mobile sized screen.

For example, wide image banners on your website that advertise dealership promotions can be eye-catching on your computer screen, yet on a tablet device or mobile phone, they could lose their visual appeal. If content is unreadable when scaled down to a fraction of the size, mobile users could be completely missing out on a promotion that might have made the difference in turning them from a visitor into a customer.

Pricing charts are another example of content which may not scale down effectively onto a mobile device. Images that highlight your pricing, such as servicing costs, are a great addition to your website because the transparency is key to building trust with customers, however adding too much text into one image can result in poor readability on mobile devices, which can cause visitors frustration when trying to find relevant information quickly and easily.

Consider using only key words on your car dealer website images so that it’s instantly readable on any device size. Longer amounts of text which then go into further detail can be positioned directly below your images on mobile to ensure you communicate the same message effectively, and clearly.

Video content is another area where mobile optimisation can make a big difference.

An example could be where a video automatically plays in the background of a car dealer website, which when scaled down onto a mobile device can be another issue. A quick review of any videos on your website to see how they perform on smaller screens might reveal issues like text in the footage that has been accidentally cropped or overlapped due to the repositioning of your other website contents. You may even discover that the video isn’t as visually appealing on a mobile as you would like, and decide that an alternative video would have a greater impact on mobile users, helping to keep their attention focused.

It is still true that you only get one chance to make a first impression, and prospective customers might not return to your dealership’s website if their first experience is less than smooth, so it’s essential to impress them at the first attempt when they arrive on your website using a tablet device or mobile phone. Google also ranks websites higher in search results when they’re fully responsive, so optimising your mobile design can help you stay ahead of the competition in terms of SEO.

If you’re unsure how the mobile experience measures up for your prospects, try stepping into your online visitors’ shoes using your own mobile devices at your dealership to replicate the customer journey and see if you’re happy with the car buying process. This hands-on approach will help you to identify any issues unique to different devices before your customers do, giving you the chance to perfect their mobile journey.

Prioritising mobile design for your car dealer website can help improve both your customers’ experience and your sales conversions. By taking the time to review your website, identifying improvements and making some tweaks, you can easily achieve a mobile-friendly site that helps to turn visitors into buyers.

Dragon2000 create industry-leading car dealer websites with a strong focus on the mobile design, ensuring that all your customers will be presented with the same seamless car buying experience that is unique to your business, no matter which device they’re using.

Our car dealer websites are fully integrated with the DragonDMS dealer management system, which means you can advertise stock instantly and sell cars at any time of the day or night, take reservation fees online, receive customer enquiries straight into your software along with bookings for services and MOTs, sell parts and accessories online and more!

Dragon2000 have been helping car dealers and garages drive their businesses forward since 1995. Contact us to find out how our dealer management system, car dealer websites and mobile apps can help your business increase profits and reduce costs.