According to recent market research, the average mobile user spends less than ten seconds on a website before deciding if it’s worth staying and going deeper into site pages. If your mobile site cannot capture and engage consumers – or at least give them what they’re looking for – in those first crucial seconds, then they’ll be off to a competitor’s site and you’ll have missed out.
The following tips can help ensure that your mobile site is solid, providing users with fast load times, valuable information, engaging content and functional forms to keep them on your site longer.
- Card grids
Mobile users want to find information quickly, and card grid layouts can help. A card grid is responsive, easy to use and presents information instantly, so users don’t have to waste time swiping, clicking links or searching for the content they need. Card grids can include text, images or a combination of both.
- Prominent search bar
Mobile users are much more likely to use a site’s search bar if it’s readily visible as soon as a page loads. Collapsible search bars add an unnecessary step for mobile users – either they won’t be able to find the search bar to expand it or they simply won’t take the time and will click over to a competitor’s site. Adding a prominent search bar on every page makes it effortless for users to find the information that they’re looking for.
- Mobile-optimised share buttons
Adding share buttons on your mobile site is a quick and easy way to engage mobile users, many of whom rely on smartphones and tablets exclusively when consuming digital content. Mobile share buttons give users a smooth, intuitive option for spreading your content through their networks to grow your audience.
- Enable intuitive touch navigation
Be sure that your mobile site has been optimised for less precise finger-touch navigation. Tiny, crowded links and buttons are much harder to use on smaller screens, and most users won’t take the time to zoom in to make navigation easier. Include plenty of white space around links and nav buttons to increase visibility, and consider subtle design changes that will make touch navigation seamless.
Conclusion
As more and more consumers prefer to engage with digital content on mobile devices, it is critical that marketers employ mobile optimisation best practices to capture this growing audience.
