Getting The Best Mobile Web Design for Your Visitors

15 Jul 2011, 12:03 p.m.

If you've taken the plunge and entered the world of mobile websites, that's a good thing. After all, more than a billion people around the world access the internet from their cell phone or other mobile device! If you want to keep up with the times, having a mobile website is a must.

But how do you come up with a mobile web design that's both functional and attractive? That's a challenge that plenty of website owners run into. Since mobile websites are supposed to be more streamlined than their traditional counterparts, how do you balance everything? Start by following these 6 tips.

Keep It Simple

This may be the most important piece of advice you get about your mobile web design. Remember, mobile users have smaller screens - so they don't want to have to scroll past a ton of pictures, deal with a bunch of graphics, or look at font that's either too big or too small. Plus, they don't want to wait for a complex page that takes forever to load, either. Mobile users want information, and they want it now.

To make your mobile web design work best for your visitors, get rid of as many pictures as you can. Unless they're absolutely necessary, your visitors don't need them. And, you may need to space your content out over several pages, so that you can get a font size that's perfect. You may also need to add some menus, so that you can have a bunch of fast-loading pages, instead of one giant page.

Let Visitors Choose The Traditional Site

Cell phones with larger screens may be able to handle your traditional website. Or, some visitors may just feel more comfortable using the standard site. By putting a link at the bottom to your traditional site, you give your mobile users options. The more comfortable they are on your site, the better it is for you.

Only Make Mobile Users Scroll In One Direction

Having to scroll down and to the right can be awfully annoying. Pick a direction, and stick with it. That way, it's easier for mobile users to read and navigate your site.

Design For Fingertips Instead Of Mice

Let's face it - even small fingers are a lot chunkier than a computer mouse. Make the buttons on your mobile website bigger, so that they are easy to touch. No one likes a site where you wind up hitting 2 or 3 buttons with one tap. And, you certainly don't want your mobile visitors to have to zoom in every time they need to select something. Remember, mobile internet users want fast information. The more effort you make them expend to get it, the more likely they are to give up.

Have Much Of The Same Content On The Mobile And Full Sites

Even if you get rid of all the pictures, the Javascript and the Flash (which most mobile devices can't read anyways), keep the same textual content. The last thing you want is to annoy mobile users who know they just read something on your standard website, and now they can't find it on the mobile version. If it takes separating the content into a few extra pages to get it all on there, so be it.

Never Forget The Mission Of Mobile Internet Users

If you think traditional internet searchers are impatient, wait until you see mobile internet searchers. Mobile web users are not browsing; they are looking for quick information on the go. They don't want your website to take forever to load, or to spend an eternity downloading something. They don't need all of the bells and whistles that you have on your traditional website.