Nearly Half of UKs Top Magazines Dont Display Effectively on Mobile

GQ screenshot45 per cent of the UKs most popular print media publications dont have mobile-optimised digital sites for displaying their content, according to research from Vibrant Media.

While the report shows this is an improvement from last year, when almost seven out of ten publications were not displaying effectively on handheld devices, it shows the print media industry is still proving slow in adapting to mobile.

The report revealed that daily news websites lead the way in displaying their content effectively on mobiles, with four out of five using mobile-optimised sites, and 25 per cent launching new mobile sites in the last year. Womens weekly magazines showed the slowest uptake of mobile optimisation, with only 40 per cent using effective mobile sites.

“The publishers still relying on websites developed for desktop users to serve their mobile consumers are costing themselves money as well as their relationship with their consumers,” said Fiona Salmon, publisher solutions director at Vibrant Media. “Desktop-focused websites often render so badly on handheld screens they can make the ads redundant. Serving ineffective ads on mobile devices limits publishers opportunity to earn revenue to support editorial.

“A separate, fully optimised mobile site is not an absolute necessity to deliver effective mobile ads if publishers use the right technology. Publishers just need to adopt very nimble native ad formats that work with the small format display, that respect the consumer, respond to the consumers device and enhance rather than compromise the consumers experience.”