According to a report made by We Are Social in collaboration with Hootsuite, they found that 93% of Internet users browse using their mobile. Indeed, in 2016, StatCounter recorded the first instance that mobile and tablet use exceeded desktops for Internet use.
What does this mean for website owners? Whether your online page is used as an eCommerce site or as a blog, making sure it is device adaptive has become an imperative rather than option. Further, in March 2018, Google rolled out their mobile-first indexing. This means that adaptiveness has become a significant ranking signal.
It is becoming pretty obvious that we should not ignore mobile user-experience. For this reason, here is a list of tips you can execute on your website.
Use website builders
Let’s start off with something basic: using website builders. Offered by any Internet domain registrars like the premium website builder of an Australian domain registrar called Crazy Domains, it is a surefire way to make sure your website is adaptive.
Most themes and customisable templates are designed to be device adaptive and SEO friendly already. So you might not need a dedicated designer on the first year of your eCommerce website, you can design your website yourself. It’s cost effective and saves a lot of time.
Hamburger menu rather than a full navigation bar
There is not much real estate when it comes to mobile viewing, which means any space you can spare must be used for content that converts. Instead of a navigation bar, make use of a hamburger menu; it is the three horizontal lines on the right hand side of every page you access on mobile.
This still provides visitors a way to get from one page to another, but it’s more compact.
Take not of the one-thumb interaction
Just look at how you are using your mobile. You scroll through your feeds and timelines using just your thumb, right? In fact, that is why Apple added the Reachability feature because a majority of users just hold the phone with one hand.
This means that our website layout must be within reach of our thumb. Remember that primary features of your website (which includes the call-to-action button and/or pertinent product information) must be found in the middle of a mobile screen. All Secondary and Tertiary features can be placed at the very top or at the very bottom of the screen.
Avoid flashy graphics
Flashy graphics include animation or gifs. This is not to say that you should not make use of them, but to minimise the use of content that has such a big file size. Your website will surely load very slowly if you populate your website with too much flashy content.
Clean and sleek design
In relation to the previous tip, make sure your design is decluttered and follows a visual path. Upon loading, make it clear where you want your visitors to go to next using text or a photo that stands outs from everything else.
Do not write huge blocks of text, instead limit it to two or three sentences per paragraph. Remember that everything is compressed; a dense text will look intimidating.
Disable pop-ups
Surprisingly, a lot of website owners do not know yet that Google has rolled out a penalty for “intrusive interstitials”; meaning, pop-ups.
But other than the risk of getting a penalty from Google, pop-ups distract users from getting to your content. Most do not pay their mind on desktop already, more so when it comes to such a small screen like their mobile.
