Five Things To Be Aware Of When Designing Websites For Mobiles

The biggest problem when designing a mobile website is lack of space. On a normal website you can have as many pages of information and photos as you want but when it comes to mobiles it is very important to streamline everything so that you don’t isolate any of your audience.

There are plenty of online tools which allow you to see how your website looks when viewed on different devices and this can allow you to determine exactly what needs changing – but what areas should you consider?

1. Relevance

Be specific, cut out all the extras or things that do not get your most important information across. The content you display is most likely going to be displayed on a single column layout which takes up the full width of the screen so ditch anything that isn’t relevant. Even on iPhones and models with bigger screens, text can sometimes be difficult to read, so keep strange fonts and small typeface out of the picture.

2. First Impressions

It is suggested that the first page should concentrate on being a content list so that the viewer can go to the page they need straight away rather than read down of a lot of unnecessary information. Make sure you have back buttons on subsequent pages and links to relevant further information wherever possible as good navigation will make your site easy to use no matter what device is being used to access it.

3. Familiarity

Keep your brand elements, for example logo or signature the same across all versions of your website. People, especially long-time customers, like to recognise it is still you and feel that you offer a consistent service. You may have to re-design elements to fit with the phone; complex images do not work well on phones, but the end result will certainly be worth it.

4. Quantity

Keep the number of pages to a minimum. People will not want to scroll through many when using smaller devices so keep the numbers down. Leave the real bulk of the information on your main site and provide regular links. Have the process of getting from the start to the point of purchase as simple and easy as possible for those just popping on to make a quick buy.

5. Distractions

Don’t use pop-up windows and avoid Flash or Java, Apple does not support Flash anyway and all of these things are a distraction that you don’t need. Design any calls to action with enough space so that they can be tapped easily if you have a touch screen and remember that small icons are easy to miss. Keep things simple by adding in built functionality so that users can ring a number when they tap or find the nearest store with your product in it. Include a QR code so they can go to an App store to download too – it’ll certainly speed things up.

If all this proves too hard to implement, you may want to consider using a website maker. These builders often have a selection of responsive templates to choose from which means you get an out-of-the-box mobile-ready website to put your content on.

Mobile browsing has exploded and is still expanding at a seemingly unstoppable rate; building a mobile website should be high up on the to-do list for anyone wishing to not get left behind.