The phenomenal growth of mobile web usage shows no signs of slowing down, with analysts predicting that by 2015 mobile web usage will surpass desktop Internet usage thanks to the proliferation of smartphone and tablet devices. A study by Gartner Research estimates that 1.2 billion smart devices (smartphones and tablets) will be purchased in 2013. This number is up from 821 million in 2012, so, with this exponential adoption set to continue it is now essential for businesses to not only have a mobile site, but to put in place a strategy to make their mobile presence as user friendly as possible. There are many ways you can approach mobile site design, included below are four tips to cover the basics.
1. Keep core content and navigation simple
Feature your most important content or key products in prime position on the mobile device screen and aim to limit scrolling as much as possible. Think about what the user will be looking for when they visit your mobile site; whether it’s contact information, product information, hours of operation, etc., and give this top real estate. Prioritize your menu items so they are easy to locate and quick to use, and include clear back and home buttons. If your mobile site is going to be a simple version of your desktop site be sure to include a link to the full version if the users enquiry is more specific.
2. Use Responsive Design
Responsive design represents the future of digital design for many businesses that require a robust online presence, as it allows you to design one site to work across multiple platforms and devices. By using responsive design you’ll be able to avoid building bespoke mobile sites for different devices, which will result in consistent viewer experiences and easy maintenance.
3. Avoid Flash
Even if the desktop version of your website includes flash avoid it for the mobile version. Flash not only isn’t supported by most mobile settings, it also takes forever to load and creates a scenario where the user will leave frustrated before seeing the content they’re after.
4. Include Calls to Action
Just because you are building a mobile site doesn’t mean you have to omit calls to action if they are a key part of your online strategy. As more and more people use mobile to browse it’s highly likely that first time site visitors will view the mobile version of your site over the desktop version so you want to make the most of this opportunity. Provide users will clear calls to action that are thumb friendly and make sure any CTA’s appear above the fold. Regardless of industry or whether your brands online presence is e-commerce based, or purely informational, building a mobile site is now an essential part of digital marketing strategy and shouldn’t be left as an after thought. Do you have any tips on user-friendly mobile design that you’d like to add? Let us know below.