POP SEO Tip #24: The 4 Most Important Aspects of Mobile-Friendly Design
As mobile continues to grow in importance, more and more people have questions about how to best design for the platform. There is, of course, a lot of nuance to the subject; however, there are – in my estimation, at least – four essential principles.
Today, we’ll be looking at each of these principles and how they factor into your mobile design. If you follow the tips below, you can create a website that looks and functions in a great way on mobile devices like phones and tablets.
Economy
Not long ago, the whole web game used to center around who could have the flashiest website with the most bells and whistles. The exact opposite is the case with mobile. You want to prize a minimalist design, which allows the user to easily navigate your website.
The easier it is to find things and access them, the better it is for your mobile customers. Instead of thinking big, think small. Create a site that has everything needed and a simple layout to get to it all. It will make a huge difference in keeping people on your website.
Speed
Like it or not, we live in a “give it to me now” society and mobile devices are a big reason for that. Therefore, it’s exceptionally important that your mobile website run as quickly as possible. Your customers, clients, or readers are conditioned to expect things instantaneously. Giving them anything less will damage your reputation.
So what does this mean to you? It goes along with our tip about economy. You don’t want a bunch of extras cluttering up the screen. Your site should load fast because if it doesn’t, you’re practically handing your traffic to a competitor who has done a better job. This is the last thing you want to do so make sure speed is a priority.
Function
Just the same as with speed, the people visiting your website expect things to work exactly as they should. When your mobile website breaks down, those thumbs and fingers are going to tap their way to some other webpage. Don’t give them the opportunity; check your website thoroughly for broken links, faulty redirects, and other common issues.
When someone clicks a link and is taken to an error page, this is a reason they might walk away and never come back. Even small issues like this can have a huge impact on your customer base. It’s well worth it to go through every page and make sure it’s as functional as possible. Otherwise, you’re almost asking people to leave.
Aesthetics
Even though you should cultivate a minimalist design, that doesn’t mean your mobile website needs to be unattractive. Pay just as much attention to design elements like color, font, layout, and everything else as you would with a desktop website. Your visitors have slick phones in their hands; your website should look equally slick.
Minimalism can be attractive but it takes some work to ensure your site hits the perfect balance. Look at other companies’ sites on your phone or tablet and see what you like and what you don’t. You can use that information to build an aesthetically pleasing website that people keep on coming back to.
Final Thoughts
If you design a mobile website that attempts to achieve the utmost in each of these four principles, you’ll be well on your way to having a mobile website that gets results. Combine function and aesthetic with speed and economy to ensure your mobile site is easy to use and offers everything a customer could want. It’s just smart business.