Your IndustryMay 19 2015

Not updating your website for smart phones will cost

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Not updating your website for smart phones will cost

Providers and advisers need to step up their mobile game or risk getting left behind as the next generation of clients come through looking for financial portals that work across all their devices, experts have warned.

As reported last month, Google changed its algorithm to include mobile friendliness as a ranking criterion, effectively down-ranking websites that do not function properly on phones and tablets; potentially costing providers and advisers millions in lost revenue.

Terry Huddart, market analysis manager at the Lang Cat, checked the 13 leading adviser platforms this month, finding that only two of them had either their main website configured for mobile (Novia and True Potential) or had a mobile application available (7IM and True Potential).

“The average advised platform client is currently aged north of 58, so on balance has probably been less inclined to shout for mobile accessible to the platform itself,” he conceded.

“But this won’t last forever - the digital revolution is now in a mobile internet phase, things are moving at an incredible pace - so what’s really surprising is the lack of mobile configuration on websites.”

His findings follow research from communications company Living Group, which looked at the web presence of FTAdviser’s Top 100 Financial Advisers last year, showing that the majority of advisory firms had no responsive features on their websites and did not provide a mobile version.

Earlier this year, Altus Consulting research amongst 185 client companies found that over half of financial service providers failed the most basic Google Mobile-Friendly Test, a statistic made all the more disappointing by the fact that of the companies that failed 42 per cent already have a mobile application on the market, including banks, wealth managers and insurers.

Statistics from StatCounter Global Stats show that the number of hits to websites from mobile devices has risen from 5 per cent in 2010 to 25 per cent at the end of 2014, while accessing websites from computers has dropped by 24 per cent.

Richard Phillips, senior consultant at Altus Consulting, told FTAdviser that while he can understand many firms have had a lot on over the last six months, it is worrying how far behind some are.

Halifax recently released its own figures, showing that in March, customers logged on to their bank account almost 40m times using their mobile phone, compared to around 20m in the same month last year.

Those aged between 18 and 29 the most likely to bank via a digital channel, but older generations are also switching on to new technology, with 37.5 per cent of 60-69 year olds banking online and 19 per cent of the over 70s have used internet banking in the past three months.

The bank attributes much of this growth to its mobile app, launched last summer, but Mr Philips argued that it is now possible to deliver functionality that was previously the preserve of apps from a mobile optimised web, at a fraction of the cost.

“You can now have notifications sent direct from websites while offline, so I think that marks the beginning of a shift away from expensive app development, to building better mobile sites.

“Updating your website is much easier for a smaller firm and most would get little to no benefit from an app, as they are only really used by people to pay bills, check balances and transfer monies.”

peter.walker@ft.com