Over the past five years, mobile traffic has been steadily increasing. During 2013, it increased by over 50 percent. It is also interesting to note that in December 2013 alone, worldwide smartphone and tablet traffic grew to 20 percent of all internet traffic. As such, it is critical that businesses take their mobile users seriously and cater content to them accordingly. It is not enough to have content readily available to mobile users. It must also be optimized for mobile devices. Take the following steps to ensure that your mobile visitors have the best experience possible.
Mobile-friendly navigation and design
You should consider the navigation and design for both a mobile website and a mobile app. Many companies opt to use a different URL such as ‘m.domain.com’ or ‘domain.com/m’ for the mobile website. Whether or not you decide to use a dedicated site, the navigation must be simple and intuitive with minimal content and basic colors.
While building, designing, upgrading, and maintaining a mobile app is a time-consuming, expensive process, most businesses do not need to make this investment. For many companies, outsourcing the majority of the work allows them to maximize the advantages of a mobile app at a fraction of the cost.
Mobile-friendly text, photos, and videos
Mobile users have a short attention span and are not going to wait around while photos and videos take a long time to load. A few extra seconds may not seem like a lot of time, but it is enough to drive users away from your content. Keep the text concise and formatted so that it is easy to read, even on small screens. Bold headings, numbered lists, and bullets are all great formatting options. Don’t forget to consider size, font style, and spacing, including line spacing, as well.
Whenever possible, reduce the number and size of your images. Users should not have to scroll, pinch, or zoom to view any full images. Keep in mind that Flash is not compatible with many mobile devices. Instead use HTML and CSS to provide quality video content for mobile users.
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Jay North
March 5, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Excellent article Erica! With the increase use of smartphones, mobiles and tablets, there should be an effective content strategy for the mobile website. The strategies mentioned based on mobile – friendly text, pics, videos, design and navigation are required for mobile content strategy.
Thanks for sharing here!