7 Things To Consider When Making Your Website Mobile Friendly
Posted December 6, 2016
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With over 50% of google searches being performed on mobile devices, people are visiting your websites from their phones and tablets now more than ever. This makes providing a positive mobile experience for your customers an imperative part of your success. Whether you already have a mobile-friendly website or you are working towards getting one, here are 7 things to keep in mind:
- Choose between responsive or completely separate design
Responsive design is simply taking the website you already have and optimizing it for mobile devices. This means that whenever someone opens your website on desktop, iPhone, iPad, or any other tablet, the website will look virtually the same. For some websites, this is not the best option. Those may need a completely separate mobile design. This is typically the case with sites that are loaded with content or have tons of pages. According to one of our web developers, any website that has enough content to have a mobile app would probably be better suited for a completely separate design. (Side note: that doesn’t mean ditch your branding. Your separate design should still flow with your brands style.)
- Make sure you have a quick loading time
Loading time is a major contributing factor to bouncing off a page and in the ‘constantly on-the-go’ world we live in where most searches are coming on a mobile device, this is even more important. Some reports show that up to 57% of mobile users will abandon your site if it takes more than 30 seconds to load. That said, 30 seconds is forever in terms of load time, so keeping it under 3 seconds is a better goal. Basically, the faster your page loads the less chance someone will leave your site before seeing all you have to offer.
- Design for the “fat finger”
For those that have a touch screen phone (I would think most reading this), I’m sure you know what I mean and have firsthand experience with this frustration. A little cursor on a screen makes clicking small hyperlinks a breeze, but that’s not the case when it comes to tapping something with our fingers. Make sure your design is usable to everyone and has as few hard-to-click features as possible. It only takes one frustrating experience to make a reader add your site to their mental “do not visit” list.
- Make sure content stays the same
While just trimming content as the fields get smaller may seem like an easy and quick fix, it isn’t the best way to do things. A viewer should be able to get the same positive experience out of a mobile visit as they do a desktop visit. If you opt to use less content on your mobile site, make sure you take the time to condense what needs to be shortened so that readers aren’t losing out on valuable information.
- Have a defined space for business name and address
This may seem like a no brainer, but the word “defined” is key here. Having a specific place for your information that can be easily found is one of the most important things you can have on your site. This is especially important if you are a brick and mortar business looking for local clients. Having a clickable address that opens in maps makes the process of searching for and then finding your business much more convenient.
- Have a prioritized link with phone number easily accessible
This is another that might make you say “duh,” but is often overlooked. With so many searches being performed on our cell phones, a tel link that allows the user to call you with the tap of their finger should a priority on your mobile site.
- Do not use hover links
Hover links are a great desktop feature that bring more attention to your hyperlinks, but don’t have the same effect on a mobile device because there is no cursor. In fact, on mobile, they are just frustrating. For a mobile site, your links should be easily identifiable and only require one click.
If you keep these 7 things in mind when developing your mobile site, you will be on track to end up with a user and google friendly mobile site.
