Do you know that there are approximately 2.71 billion smartphone users in the world right now?
That is approximately one-third of the world’s population.
About 51% of the world only use the internet on their phones as of now. By 2025, that number is expected to rise to almost 75%.
Businesses cannot afford to ignore this trend. Everyone should be optimizing their websites for mobile use.
Below are seven best practices to follow in order to create mobile-friendly experiences.
1. Have a Clear Focus
When people visit your mobile site, you want them to stay there a while and follow the steps you have set up. To achieve these goals, you need to have a clear focus and be straightforward about what you want them to do. As mobile users are typically in a hurry or are on the way to something else, they need to be able to understand what your site is about very quickly.
2. Provide a Simple, Logical Structure
While it may be tempting to categorize and subcategorize every topic, it is actually counterproductive. It would seem that being very specific in labeling each item would help the user find what they need more quickly. However, if the visitor sees 20 headers with 10 subcategories under each, they will likely become overwhelmed and find a much simpler mobile site for their needs. Keep your structure as simple as you can and set it up in the most logical manner.
3. Simple Forms are Best
Any opt-in forms on your site need to be extraordinarily simple to fill out. Do not ask for anything that is not necessary. For example, unless you are shipping something to their homes, you have no need for your visitors’ addresses. If it is possible for you to get away with only a first name and email address, do not ask for more at this time. Mobile visitors need anything they do on your site to be quick and simple. Having complicated forms will most likely lead to missed leads.
4. Minimize the Number of Pictures and Graphics
Speed is paramount to a user-friendly experience. Mobile website visitors expect expedient results. If it takes your site more than a few seconds to load, visitors will close out of it. While pictures and graphics improve the design of a website, too many can actually slow your site down. Be strategic in the images you use and keep the number to a minimum.
5. Quick Reading
Most people do not want to read a 2,000-word blog post, at least not until they are interested in the content. Long, the continual text will send most mobile users backing out of your site in a couple of seconds. Break up your site’s content into sections so the visitor can easily scan it.
6. Careful with the Multimedia
Remember that many mobile users are in public, so it is important to give them control over any video content for better digital experiences with your site. Do not set any multimedia to start playing on its own. Design your site so that the visitor has to press play for the content to load and play.
7. Optimize for Both Portrait and Landscape Viewing
During the design period, you should focus on providing both portrait and landscape viewing options. Mobile users become accustomed to using their phones in their own ways, including how they view their screens. If you only provide one viewing option, you might lose visitors who prefer the other viewing orientation. Providing the option of both, on the other hand, will lead to more mobile-friendly experiences.
If your organization has not yet added a mobile strategy to your business plan, you are missing some amazing opportunities. In fact, over $101 billion was spent through mobile apps alone in 2018. That amount will only grow with the increase of smartphone owners and mobile web users. Marketing, sales, and technology leaders should work together and formulate a plan to create digital experiences for their current and potential customers.
