“In the third quarter of 2019, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 51.51 percent of global website traffic, consistently hovering around the 50 percent mark since the beginning of 2017″ – statista.com

8 basics every mobile website design must include.

mobile web design iconVisitors using mobile website browsers are typically on the move. They need information quickly. Time is of the essence. In the mobile website world, less is often more. Small screen sizes mean you needn’t be too wordy; text should be direct and concise.

Most websites (including mobile ones) aim to convert visitors into actual followers, contacts, customers, clients, and sales. Consider the points below rules to follow to make sure your mobile website design is as effective in this mission as possible!

  1. Simple navigation promotes the use of all mobile websites! The more complicated your website and the more options you present, the more time it takes visitors to sort out where to go. Remember, time is of the essence. Present your information along with your mobile website navigation in the most straightforward manner possible. You’ll have happy visitors, who will more easily become satisfied customers.
  2. Use only vertical scrolling! With the evolution of Apple’s iPhones and their Android-based competitors with similar screen dimensions, vertical scrolling is the accepted (and expected) method for moving about mobile websites. Mobile designs should not force visitors to scroll horizontally for everyday navigation. Mobile websites should be designed only to require vertical scrolling, and in an ideal world, no scrolling at all. Whenever possible, shorten your pages. Narrow down what the visitor is looking for through a series of taps on selections rather than force them to scroll a page. The odds of converting a client from your home page to your client are best accomplished with as little scrolling as possible.
  3. Design usable navigation buttons and links. We’ve all heard of the guy with two left thumbs. New mobile internet users will appreciate your site if their ten left fingers can successfully tap its controls. Buttons and tappable zones should not be so close together that they can easily be miss-tapped. They should be large enough to accommodate the clumsiness that may accompany any human attempting to do two things simultaneously, like walking and browsing!
  4. Shortest possible contact forms. Don’t ask the visitor to input more information than you need. Some of the luxuries of data collection we’ve become accustomed to on the desktop full-sized internet will have to be left behind when designing a mobile website. Like camping with your spork (spoon-fork) combo to save weight, great mobile websites forgo non-essential information collection to prevent excessive form page drops. If you need more than an email address and phone number your potential client may find a more straightforward mobile website that is less demanding of their data input.
  5. Automate the dialing of cell phones directly to your phone number. Mobile browsers offer some neat functionality facilitated by the fact that they reside on devices that contain phones. You can offer the convenience of tapping on a phone icon that will cause the mobile phone to dial your number automatically. It is quick, easy, and requires less page space than publishing your phone number for manual dialing.
  6. Automated directions to your brick-and-mortar address (if you use one). Icons can be added to a mobile website that, when tapped, opens the browser to show a map and provide directions to your location. Because mobile smartphones have integrated GPS, they can automatically provide directions from the web browser’s current physical location to your door.
  7. Incorporate only the images needed to convey your message. Like in the days of dial-up internet, good mobile website designs pay close attention to the time delays that images can add to the page load and website browsing experience.

Need help with your mobile website design? Contact us. We have the experience to make your mobile website shine!