Because mobile devices have smaller screens and less processing power, a site designed for desktops is bound to take ages to load. Considering that most visitors don’t have the patience to endure prolonged loading times and there’s plenty other similar websites out there, having a non-friendly mobile site presents the risk of losing new customers to your competitors.
The good news is that creating a mobile-friendly version for your website is quite an easy and straightforward process. Following are some tips that can help you make your site more accessible to visitors browsing via their smartphones or tablets.
Plan the layout carefully
By far the best solution for a mobile version of your site is to choose a simple design that makes navigation seamless for your visitors. Don’t forget to add thumb friendly buttons and call to actions that automatically load your phone number when tapped.
Keep the landing pages simple
Although the advancements in the industry are impressive, mobile devices still lack the processing power of a desktop computer. Therefore, they’re unable to render more sophisticated designs, such as flash for instance. In general, it’s best to avoid using flash altogether and only integrate images in situations where they’re truly relevant. Otherwise, you’ll just increase the site’s loading time and risk losing numerous potential customers.
Include only the content mobile users actually need
While you might be tempted to include the same content as in the desktop version, resist this urge. Mobile users usually prefer simple content that includes basic information like phone number, address, working hours and other similar data. Give mobile users the info they want and refrain from overcrowding the mobile version of your site, especially because extra content amplifies loading times.
Make site usability your number one priority
Because navigating via a mobile device revolves around the idea of speed, it would be wise to tweak your site a bit. Tweaking in this case entails incorporating a call-to-action button that opens up the phone’s dialling pad, fat-fingers friendly buttons and a map to show your location, just to name the most important usability features.
Remember to include social media quick links
If there’s one trait that all mobile users share, then that has to be the fact that they’re in a hurry. Providing this demographic with easy access to the major social networks and profiles is the simplest way to receive positive feedback and engage your visitors. Not only does this element allow your customers remain in the loop with your business, but it will also helps increase your revenues in the long term. Besides, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy; make it easy for your visitors to follow you on Twitter or like you on Facebook.
Go for a design compatible with multiple devices and browsers
When designing the mobile website, keep in mind that customers will access it from a wide array of devices and browsers. The last thing you want is to design a site that doesn’t load or breaks when accessed from certain handsets or browsers. To avoid all inconveniences associated with device and browser compatibility, implement a testing strategy and don’t launch the site until it’s fully optimized.
Use mobile redirects to automate user experience
To make your mobile website more user friendly, it would be wise to implement an automatic redirect script in the design. Each time a visitor is trying to access your website via a mobile device, the script will detect it and load the appropriate version seamlessly.
Don’t forget to include a link to your full site
Even though most mobile users are in a hurry, there’s also a fair chance that some of them want to learn more about your products and services before they make their final decision. Therefore, remember to include a link to the desktop version for this category of visitors.
Conclusion
While most websites were built to perform on desktop computers, the tremendous popularity of mobile devices raises some concerns. In the event that approximately 20% of your visitors are accessing your site via a smartphone or tablet, then it’s a clear indicator that you should make your website more mobile friendly. With 92% of the UK citizens owning a smartphone and 50% of them on a data plan, creating a mobile version for your site is mandatory, if you want to keep up with the competition.