There are an increasing number of mobile devices coming into the market every day and they are being used by people to access the World Wide Web. Thus having a mobile website can get your products and company much wider attention. With Smartphones and Tablets ruling the roost today, the web has gone into a mobile mode and there is no way back. And this is only the beginning in some ways, which is why it’s important to pay attention to mobile design of your website.
The point to remember is that a website that can look appealing on your desktop or laptop for that matter might not render itself well on a mobile device. That’s the reason mobile design for your website is crucial and it can be created keeping seven important points in mind. This is a guest post by Ramya Raju from colorcharacter.com 1.Simplicity is the key
An integral element of mobile website design is simplicity and it has to be at the forefront right from the onset. Rather than delving into long sections that can be tricky to read you can opt for crisper and easy to follow portions. You might also want to reduce the clutter by taking off low priority content. Single columns work a lot better with mobile designs rather than long drawn out ones that make horizontal scrolling necessary.
2.Keep your target audience in mind
Mobile websites should be created taking into account your business goals and the interests of your users. It’s important to understand your audience demographic and the experience they might have with mobile devices. In case a website is catering to the younger audience then there is a greater possibility that they will have greater mastery over their mobile devices. On the other hand websites that are meant for an older audience will have to incorporate special design elements to make things more convenient to them.
3.Device demographics should be paid attention to
You have to bear in mind the kind of devices your target audience use and make sure the website works well on them. You can make the most of analytics programs like Mobile Analytics API from Google to get a better idea of the devices they use. Once this step is done, you can follow device testing strategy so you know that your users have a pleasant experience working on them. This will be a good teller for the functionality of your site on the right mobile devices.
4.Pop ups should be eliminated
Browsing experience can be seriously hampered by new windows or pop ups. Browsers meant for mobile devices don’t generally support pop ups and even if there is scope for new window, you will realize that there’s very little place to pop into. To try and cut down on these unpredictable results, it’s better that you eliminate pop ups completely.
If there are some functions that cannot be carried out without a pop up then you might want to alert the users beforehand. Frequent refreshing of pages should also be avoided because mobile devices have limited memory and it can be filled up easily. It’s a better idea to let the user refresh the page whenever he or she wants to.
5.The design should be an extension of your whole site
You might want to create a mobile design for your website but that doesn’t mean you lose the look of your full website. In case there are certain colors etc that are associated with your brand or products then they should find a place in your mobile website. However one thing you should pay attention to is that users can get to the place they want to without having to go through too many clicks. Thus the quality of the site will be maintained and your users won’t be put through a frustrating experience.
6.Responsive Web Design makes a difference
The ground reality is that there are number of web devices that are being launched every year. Hence you can’t check your site on just a few browsers or test it for launching. Your site will have to be optimized for a wide range of desktop and mobile browsers. Each of them is known to have its own support technology, screen resolution and user base, which has to be taken into account right in the beginning.
7.Navigation and user input should be minimized
User input can be tricky on certain phones and since keyboards are not as convenient, user mistakes crop in. Hence it’s a good strategy to try and keep user input to minimum. You can pull out information from user’s present account when it comes to the checkout process. Similarly, you can keep the navigation minimal to a drop down menu. Built-in functionality of a phone can also be used to good effect.
8.Use color for communication
Color plays an important role in usability of mobile websites. If you use colors in right parameters, your website will be more appealing and that will increase traffic. But of course you have to guard against overuse of colors. Color can be ideally used to give contrasting effect to other design elements as far as conveying information is concerned. Focus on background colors while text colors should be avoided as they make content less readable.
9.Need for extensive user interaction should be cut down on
People using mobile devices are focused on different things when browsing. Need for frequent interactions can put them off even if they might be interested in your content. That’s the reason these interactions should be kept to minimum.
These pointers can help you with your mobile design that should focus on user experience. The bottom line is your mobile website should be valuable and helpful to your visitors.
Summary
Be creative and innovative about your mobile website design. Remember, your content should not only be compelling but usable. When users are browsing on mobile web they don’t want to dig deep and should be given what they want instantly.
Author Bio
I’m Ramya, a freelance web designer/writer based in India. I have worked in a number of SEO projects and have a good insight into creating a web design with SEO techniques incorporated in it. Apart from web designing and SEO I also contribute high-quality articles to top class websites and blogs. Besides business I am part-time wildlife photographer and generally an extrovert, I also like travelling to different destinations.
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