Many businesses with online portals do not take advantage of mobile design. Business owners may assume that customers can see the same screens on their mobile devices as on their PCs. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Screens that show up nicely on a PC display may require endless vertical and horizontal scrolling on a mobile device. Business owners who try to view their company websites on their smartphones are often surprised at how difficult and frustrating the experience can be.
Mobile Use Is Growing
Many online business owners underestimate the use of mobile phones by their customers. Analysts estimate that consumers with either tablets or smartphones conduct an average of 21 local searches per week. The use of mobile devices depends a lot on where the consumer is when they decide to shop for an item. If they are at home and sitting in front of their computer, they may opt to search on their PC. However, if they are accustomed to using their mobile device, they may choose that instead, even if the PC is right in front of them. Certainly if consumers are not in the computer office or at home, they will most certainly use their smartphones or tablets.
Links and Navigation on Mobile Devices
Once business owners realize that the company website needs special consideration for mobile use, they can start by improving navigation. Some of the key strategies we use at Webstract Marketing are:
- Make the URLs as short as possible – typing is significantly limited on a mobile device.
- Make the text for hyperlinks as long as possible – links of 3-5 words make it easier for users to select links.
- Put navigation links at page bottoms – this keeps users from having to scroll endlessly to reach the site content.
Control Image Sizes
Images need special attention for mobile sites. Some key design points are:
- Keep images small – even though some smartphones can zoom, making the customers use that feature costs them time and effort.
- Minimize image download time – image downloads not only cost the customer time but potentially data charges as well.
- Keep large images away from the top of the screen – do not make customers have to scroll past a large image to get to the content.
Proper Layout Is Essential
Smartphones condense content. This means that data columns will often shrink beyond readability. Webpage layouts should be designed to require minimal vertical scrolling, and no horizontal scrolling at all. One of the best ways to do this is to divide full PC pages into small chunks for mobile devices. They key is to make the content very easy to read.
Use Professional Mobile Designers
It is easy to see why mobile web design is a job for professionals. Contact Webstract Marketing today, and let us show you how we can either optimize your current site for mobile use, or create a brand new site.