Users are always looking to reach results as fast as they can. Consumers are looking for instant and immediate gratification when they go to a website. They want their needs to be resolved as quickly and effectively as possible. This adds to the need for an increasingly effective and necessary mobile experience. Consumers use their mobile devices to view the web and shop more than ever before. If your company is not optimizing its website for mobile use, then you are behind the pack.
As seen in a Google study, 29% of consumers will switch sites if the site they are on has a long load time or is “clumsy.” This furthers the case for mobile optimization. Developing an effective mobile strategy will directly relate to more leads and sales for your business. 70% of consumers that switch from your site to another will have switched due to lengthy load times. 67% will make the change if there are too many steps to make a purchase or obtain information.
Here are five ways to create a better mobile experience:
- Remove unnecessary steps:
The more steps on your site, the more likely it is that a consumer will make a mistake or get frustrated. If sales is what you want to achieve, then having fewer steps than your desktop site is the key to success. Have buttons that quickly bring consumers to steps that can easily be bypassed. This will aid in the effective use of screen real estate while lowering the number of tasks that are needed to complete an order.
- Know what your audience wants:
Knowing what your consumers want will lead to more sales and create a better overall experience for your audience. The most natural and most effective method to view the traffic and pages that consumers are using is to view your website analytics. Knowing the most viewed pages will help you to develop those pages even further for mobile usability. This will also help you to drive users on mobile devices to these pages instead of limiting them to navigating through your website to get to the page they want. Use backend capabilities to your advantage. Users are more likely to buy on a mobile website if the site tailors its content to their location and can easily offer what they need.
- Load time is critical to success:
The user experience on your mobile site may be on point, but if the site takes too long to load, no one will ever see it. Studies show that consumers are not likely to use a website if the load time is more than 3 seconds. The most common issues come from non-optimized pictures, custom fonts, and animations. Reducing the size of files on the backend will help reduce the overall load time of your site, and the effect can be seen almost instantly. Custom fonts and over-the-top animations may look great, but they generally lead to longer wait times and site abandonment. Using efficient code and up-to-date standards is the most natural and most effective method of keeping your load time as short as possible.
- Keep interactivity and clickability in mind:
The most significant difference between a desktop and mobile site is screen size. Desktop sites are much larger and therefore can have more information and items on them. Mobile websites can have a lot of information, but they need to be designed with usability in mind. One significant example is buttons. Onsite buttons on a desktop can be small and non-essential to function due to the reliability of a mouse. However, mobile buttons are of utter importance as users will have to use them with their fingers to move through your site quickly. The design and placement of these buttons are key to the success of your mobile user experience, as users will rely on them to navigate your website.
- Have modern compatibility:
When it comes to optimizing your mobile user experience, it is essential to use the most up-to-date coding methods available. One example is Flash; many smartphone browsers lack the ability to play video or sound from Flash-based code. Almost all current frameworks have “mobile” at the top of the compatibility list, as it is the most common method of web viewership. Updating your code is essential not just for compatibility but also for load time. Old code will not be compatible with newer browsers and will take much longer to load.
Making your website both desktop- and mobile-friendly is key to success. Users are not likely to use your site or make a purchase if they have to wait more than a few seconds. Optimizing your website to be as fast and effective as possible is of utter importance. Being one step ahead of the consumer will help make your site as accessible and inviting as possible to visitors. Using analytics will help you know what your consumers want and what you should be leading them to. Using backend capabilities like GPS tracking will help show you what to offer consumers based on their location and what they are most likely looking for.
The time to make your website mobile- and user-friendly is time that you can’t get back for your business. Let us help you get back the vital time to focus on your business. We are here to help make your website look great and make it as fast as possible.