Users of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are growing at a rapid pace. Emarketer predicts that by the end of this year 1.75 billion people worldwide will be using a smartphone regularly. Such figures only show that not only are these people using their mobile devices to make phone calls and send text messages or emails; they also rely on their devices to find information online, make purchases and stay connected with their social networks. Thus, it’s time to learn how to create a mobile-friendly website.
If your website or e-commerce site is not designed to accept mobile traffic, then you are abandoning a good number of potential customers and sales. Of course, as a business owner, you do not want such an opportunity to simply go by. To help you optimize your website for mobile use, here are a couple of advice you can take from CIO.com on how to effectively manage a mobile-friendly website.
1. Focus on Responsiveness for a Mobile-Friendly Website
Copley Broer, CEO of LandlordStation, noted that when it comes to building a mobile-optimized website, the first thing that should be taken into account is responsiveness. That means a responsive technology framework should be used to allow all the elements on the website to react properly according to different screen sizes. This will ensure that users will have a similar experience no matter what type of device they are using. Focus on the responsiveness of your website so that when visitors are searching up information online, they will not end up going into another mobile-friendly website.
2. Allow for the Movement of Thumb or Index Finger
Keep in mind that most mobile devices have small screens that are navigable by touch, so what you want is to make your website easily navigable using a thumb or index finger. If the elements of your website require pinching to zoom, then take that as a sign that they are probably too small for the users. With this in mind, design your mobile interfaces, considering users. Most adults have an average index finger between 15 and 22 mm, which equates to 45 to 57 pixels. Hence, when designing a button or elements, give them at least 45 pixels of surrounding clearance to prevent them from making wrong taps.
3. Keep Design Simple and Content Short
It can be tempting to add a lot of special parts or functions on your website. However, when optimizing for mobile use, a simple design is always the best choice. Remember that you are designing for smaller devices, so you have limited space to work with. Adding too many functions will affect the loading capacity of the site, and what you do not want to happen is for users to wait long for the page to load.
On a similar note, avoid populating the site with content. Doing so would only make it too cluttered. As much as possible, deliver your message using fewer yet effective words to keep readers’ attention. Likewise, use conventional mobile icons and mobile-optimized images for faster loading time and easier navigation.
4. Go Easy on Java
Not all JavaScript works flawlessly on mobile devices, so avoid using it in excess on your mobile website. This does not suggest that you forego it altogether. Rather, you should be careful when integrating it into your site as it could affect its overall performance.
5. Place Your Contact Details Wisely, Use Geolocation and Design Mobile-Optimized Forms
The main point of having a mobile website is to make it easier for potential customers to find and know more about your business wherever they go. Unfortunately, many organizations forget about this that they fail to properly place their contact details. As a result, users waste a lot of time looking for store hours, contact details or the store location, forcing them to leave the website without making any purchase.
Do not let such fate happen to your site. Make it easier for people to find such information to ensure a better user experience. You should also consider using geolocation capability to provide users direction, let them check in-store availability and offer targeted promotions and prices and connect to social communities. In addition to contact information placement and geolocation, it is also important to design your forms for mobile. That is, limit the number of fields to be filled up by users.
6. Add Video, but Do So Cleverly
Video is an important element for any mobile site because many consumers tend to watch videos using their mobile devices than on their laptops or desktop computers. When adding a video player to your site, be sure to use one that runs flawlessly on mobile devices. It should also be lightweight to prevent it from dragging the loading page of your site.
7. Carry Out Tests Before Launching
If you truly want to let users have better experience checking your website on their mobile devices, test it out before launching. This will enable you to see flaws that need to be corrected and which elements have to be removed altogether. These guides will help you on how you should create a mobile-friendly website. Since mobile devices dominate a large percentage of people on accessing the internet online, it is of best help to use these tips to create a more, easy-to-access mobile-friendly website.
Web Development Outsourcing
In the end, if you finally realized that you want a mobile-friendly site for yourself, you should not hesitate to call for a professional’s help. Web development outsourcing has recently become a trend and if I were you, I wouldn’t miss this chance to have a better website.
Outsourcing a web developer from the Philippines may offer you lots of perks and advantages you never even expected. Aside from lessening the costs, you wouldn’t even have to think about the whole stressful employment process. Here at Prime Outsourcing, all you need to do is inquire and tell us what kind of services do you need. We offer a pool of professionals from different fields to answer all of your digital marketing concerns. To know about our prime services, you can click here.
