Since the turning of the New Year, our blogs have consistently stressed the importance of a mobile-friendly website. We live in a world that has a need for speed. Constantly on-the-go, the current generation of workers and consumers are accustomed to a life of multi-tasking that usually involves a mobile phone in one hand.
Long gone are the days where mobiles were simply used for messaging and making calls; you can be sure that these smart-phone users are surfing the web looking for instant information and making flash purchases. Of course Google recognised this growth in mobile web search and responded with their Mobile First Index. For the purpose of search rankings, the index unsurprisingly crawls mobile-friendly websites before desktop versions, thereby penalising websites that are not made for mobile.
There are many factors which contribute to an effective and smart web design and a mobile-friendly website is one of the most imperative. We look to our in-house web designer, Ross Taylor, for his top tips on how to achieve and optimise websites designed with the mobile user in mind.
Easy Navigation
For any website, easy navigation is a key component to driving the website’s success. We relentlessly highlight its importance in web design and that is no less significant when it comes to mobile versions. In fact, due to the smaller screen sizes, a simple navigation system is more crucial than on desktop. Where navigation is over-complicated or doesn’t follow a natural progression to the product or information that the user requires, you will see an increase in the bounce rate of your website. The bounce rate is the number of visitors who navigate away from the website after viewing only one page.
Optimised Images
Whether your website is informational, offers a service, or is an Ecommerce platform built for selling products, images are an expected and necessary component. The human eye is drawn to images more than to chunks of text, which means that your company brand, story, and purpose must be presented in the images and complemented by optimised written content.
The combined file sizes of images on a page will contribute to the overall page
loading speed. Where research has shown that a large percentage of users will abandon websites that have a loading speed of more than 5 seconds, it is essential that these images be optimised. Image optimisation is the process by which file sizes are reduced as much as possible without losing the quality of the image.
In an Ecommerce web design you will likely require more images which show the product from different angles and show its functionality. High quality optimised images play a central role in building the trust of potential customers and securing the sale.
For any website, a skilled web designer will know how to arrange these images to deliver a positive and mobile-friendly user experience whilst optimising high resolution and professional images so that they are quick to load.
Minimal Animation
Use Responsive Design
Mobile devices come in all screen dimensions. Responsive web design automatically adjusts the size and positioning of text and images so that the user can access everything on their screen without having to zoom in or scroll from left to right. The result is a far more positive user experience.
Having a mobile-friendly version of your website is a fundamental part of achieving your online success. If you’re looking for a new website that is optimised for mobile users, get in touch.
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