As technology improves and the internet is becoming universally accessible, consumers are spending more time on their mobile devices. The average US adult now spends 2 hours and 55 minutes on their smartphone per day, a 9-minute increase from 2018. Businesses are tapping into this increased screen time, by making their message available on social media, investing in-app advertising, and continuously improving their website for the mobile user.
In order to not fall behind, it is crucial to begin looking at your own website with a critical eye. Whether you are trying to reach your audience on their mobile phones or not, it is very likely they will look you up while on-the-go.
To help get you started, here are 5 key factors to a mobile-friendly website.
1. Load Time
Just like desktop, page loading time is an important part of your website’s user experience. 47% of consumers expect to have the page load in less than 2 seconds. Anything less than that may mean people will leave your website before even reading any of your information. Loading time also includes problems like images not showing up, the screen freezing, or worst case scenario crashing the internet browser all-together.
2. Content Length
People have a lot less room on their phones. So, while your website is automatically adjusting the content to shrink down to the mobile screen, it may not be as mobile-friendly. Best practices dictate that you should have short, bite-size pieces of text and avoid lengthy paragraphs. An easy way to break up your text is by adding headlines (like we do in this blog)!
3. Clickability
It is crucial that your website is easy to navigate through. Your buttons need to be big enough that a thumb can easily click on them to navigate to that page. On the other side, it is just as important that not everything is clickable. There is nothing more frustrating than when you accidentally click on a hyperlink or photo and the website begins loading a new page.
Tip: We recommend spending some time clicking through your own website to see if you have this problem. Can you click on all your call-to-actions? Did you accidentally click on something as you tried to scroll down your home page? Take notes and take action.
4. Distractions
Many websites are optimized to convert people on their desktop. New plugins like online chat boxes or pop-up windows with an offer are creative ways to get your website visitor to contact you. When visiting this website on a mobile device, these features can have the opposite effect. Small optimizations like an easy way to minimize the window or “X” out of the pop-up can make or break the success of your mobile website.
5. Wrap It All Up
Last, but certainly not least, it is important to check your content and make sure that everything did respond for the mobile device. Depending on your website’s settings, you may sometimes see text being cut off the screen. What you see on your iPhone Plus might not be the same thing people see on their iPhone 8. Make sure you look at your website from all the devices and ensure that all your text and images are properly wrapping around each other.
80% of shoppers use smartphones during physical shopping.
It is no secret that having a mobile-friendly website can make or break your ability to generate leads online. Our web developers can provide you with detailed insight on where your website may need to be improved for the mobile user experience and help you fix it.
CLICK HERE to schedule a complimentary 30-minute website audit
