MTV Redesigns Its Website to Appeal to Mobile Users

Due to the rising demand of mobile-friendly websites, MTV recently redesigned its video and news pages so as to make them more accessible on mobile devices.

The American Genius reports that MTV recently launched a web designing overhaul intended to reach more users on their smartphones and tablet devices. Using responsive web design (RWD) techniques, the designers at MTV converted their videos, webpages, and other media present on its homepage to better cater to the needs of an increasingly smartphone-reliant, younger fan base.

Users of MTV.com and many other websites have generally complained about websites that are difficult to navigate on a smartphone such as the iPhone or on a tablet device such as the HP Stream. Long scrolling times and frequent re-sizing are just a few of the issues mobile users have when accessing inadequate websites.

MTV’s responsive web design methods optimized its website to make it more accessible for several types of devices. The website’s layout now changes according to the device accessing it, and among other things, it uses a fluid grid to make images and text boxes proportional.

“Recently, Google has required websites that have went mobile friendly to take priority over those that have not converted,” said Clayton Thompson, partner at MyNetWire. “If your website isn’t mobile friendly, they are going to move your website down the pecking order. These days it’s crucial to be able to reach your intended audience on all platforms.”

The results of the changes so far have been impressive. MTV.com underwent a 92% increase in mobile visits, a 55% increase in the average number of pages viewed per visit by each mobile visitor, and an astounding 297% increase in the amount of time spent on the website per visit.

MTV also experienced a 246% increase in social media referrals from the site. Studies have shown that users who engage in social media on a website increases that website’s notoriety and, potentially, its Internet traffic.

The cable channel also redesigned its news site. The redesigning resulted in similar increases in traffic and user engagement. The news site saw a 151% increase in visits, a 137% increase in the time spent per visit, and a 564% increase in social media referrals.