Today, more than half of the world’s Internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If your company doesn’t have a site compatible with mobile devices, it’s likely that you’re losing a number of potential customers.
Mobile visitors want to see a version of your site with colors, themes and content similar to the main site. But they expect the structure of the pages to be fairly different: the screen should display only one or two elements at a time, rather than the multitude of options available with the desktop version.
Mobile web design vs. responsive design
Mobile web design gives the option of a separate, mobile-only website in addition to the desktop site.
Responsive design is a method of developing and designing a website that will respond to the user’s screen size. Our blog on “What is Responsive Web Design?” offers a good overview.
Universal Mobile Design Concerns
Reducing load times: It’s the expectation from most consumers that your web page is going to load quickly (in only a few seconds). If your website is slow, they’ll head over to competition. To accomplish this, make sure you reduce your image sizes, streamline your HTML code and optimize your site. Your reward: Google ranks fast-loading sites high in search results.
Navigation on a small screen: Mobile phone screens are too small to view a large navigation menu in addition to the primary content. Rather than showing the desktop site’s navigation, mobile navigation options should be minimized.
Designing for touch: Fingers do not have the ability to hover or right click, and they need a good amount of space between links to be sure they don’t accidentally click the wrong one. Other considerations when designing for touch are the use of buttons, vertical scrolling and minimal form requirements.
Divide pages into smaller chunks: It can be difficult to read long segments of text on a cell phone, so putting them on multiple pages makes them easier to read, with a clear “next” button, so visitors don’t have to scroll.
A few West Press web design blogs worth checking out:
• Six Rookie Website Mistakes to Avoid
• Necessary Elements of a Great Website
• Selecting the Right Web Design Firm
Whether you’re just starting out or want to discuss a redesign, the web development team at West Press is here to help by putting together a great website that will work hard for you. Contact West Press or your Account Executive at 520-624-4939 today.