Optimizing your Website for Mobile Viewing
Optimizing your Website for Mobile
Viewing
Every website is different, but there are a
few basic rules to keep in mind whether
your site is a large e-commerce store, or a
one-page informational site.
Rule #1: Keep it simple
If you're only going to follow one of these
rules, go with this one as it's the most
important. Above all else, mobile users
want speed and simplicity. They oJen
know exactly what they're looking for, and
they want you to offer them the shortest
route there.
lts Important to start D Tiguring out
your users are. Why are they primarily on
your website when they're mobile? Are
they looking for information (such as your
physical address or a map), or is there a
specific action they're likely to take (such
as filling out a form)?
Unless your site is a blog or otherwise
heavily focused on articles/reading, you
will probably want to avoid long
sections of text content. For example, if
you have a website with i information about
your restaurant, you will want to put the
restaurant history, information about your
staff and other non-essential things on
separate pages (or skip it completely for
mobile users). Chances are, 9/10 of your
mobile visitors are just looking for your
menu, your address or when you're open,
and that's what you should make easily
accessible.
Rule #2: Use similar designs
You don't want your mobile users to get
confused when they arrive on your newly
designed mobile site. That's what can
easily happen if the mobile design doesnt
look anything like your regular site, which
they've most likely already visited from
their PC sometime before.
In most cases, the mobile website should
be an alternative version of your regular
site, not a completely different experience.
site, not a completely different experience.
This means you should keep all branding
elements about the same on both
versions.
Rule #3: Use lots of white-space and
bia links/buttons
We've all experienced it: those dreaded
mobile sites where you have to zoom in
10000% just to be able to click on the right
link. Sometimes you even have to try a few
times just to land your finger at exactly the
right pixels. That's simply not a good user
experience.
You need to make sure every major link or
from other clickable elements, or your
website will be very difficult to use on
mobile devices. Using plenty of
whitespace is key when developing a
mobile site, even if your instincts may tell
you to cram as much information as
possible into it to fully utilize the small
Screen.
Rule #4: Do not require plugins
Few modern websites require plugins like
Flash or Java to run these days, but if
yours is one of them you need to change
this for your mobile site. Even if they
support these plugins on paper, many
mobile devices will slow down to a crawl
when encountering them. The fact is
though, that no Apple device supports
Flash and they have publicly stated that
they never will.
Rule #5: Put some thought into
social media Integration
Too many websites throw up 10 big
sharing buttons on all of their pages in an
attempt to encourage social activity. On
mobile devices where space is limited, this
will look very cluttered. It will also slow
down loading times considerably.
Instead, consider focusing on just 1-2
sOcial platforms. You probably know
already if you're getting the most "bang for
your buck" from Twitter, Facebook or
anything else.
Rule #6: Give the user a choice
Even if your mobile website offers
everything your full site does, it still makes
sense to offer mobile users the option of
viewing the full site. They may simply be
more familiar with it, or they may be using
an older device that doesn't fully support
your mobile design.
Whichever the case, it's always a good
idea to include a link somewhere on the
page that they can click to view the full
site instead
Rule #7: Test extensively before
going live!
At the very least, you need to check your
website from the most popular types of
devices. This includes an Android phone,
an Android tablet, an iPhone and an iPad.
There are also quite a few 'crossover"
devices out there, such as the Samsung
Note series or the iPad Mini. The more
devices you can test on before going live,
the better your chances of offering an
optimal experience for everyone. If you
don't have access toall these devices
yourself, or through friends, you can
always hit up your local electronics store!
Development or Do lt Yourself?
Viewing
Every website is different, but there are a
few basic rules to keep in mind whether
your site is a large e-commerce store, or a
one-page informational site.
Rule #1: Keep it simple
If you're only going to follow one of these
rules, go with this one as it's the most
important. Above all else, mobile users
want speed and simplicity. They oJen
know exactly what they're looking for, and
they want you to offer them the shortest
route there.
lts Important to start D Tiguring out
your users are. Why are they primarily on
your website when they're mobile? Are
they looking for information (such as your
physical address or a map), or is there a
specific action they're likely to take (such
as filling out a form)?
Unless your site is a blog or otherwise
heavily focused on articles/reading, you
will probably want to avoid long
sections of text content. For example, if
you have a website with i information about
your restaurant, you will want to put the
restaurant history, information about your
staff and other non-essential things on
separate pages (or skip it completely for
mobile users). Chances are, 9/10 of your
mobile visitors are just looking for your
menu, your address or when you're open,
and that's what you should make easily
accessible.
Rule #2: Use similar designs
You don't want your mobile users to get
confused when they arrive on your newly
designed mobile site. That's what can
easily happen if the mobile design doesnt
look anything like your regular site, which
they've most likely already visited from
their PC sometime before.
In most cases, the mobile website should
be an alternative version of your regular
site, not a completely different experience.
site, not a completely different experience.
This means you should keep all branding
elements about the same on both
versions.
Rule #3: Use lots of white-space and
bia links/buttons
We've all experienced it: those dreaded
mobile sites where you have to zoom in
10000% just to be able to click on the right
link. Sometimes you even have to try a few
times just to land your finger at exactly the
right pixels. That's simply not a good user
experience.
You need to make sure every major link or
from other clickable elements, or your
website will be very difficult to use on
mobile devices. Using plenty of
whitespace is key when developing a
mobile site, even if your instincts may tell
you to cram as much information as
possible into it to fully utilize the small
Screen.
Rule #4: Do not require plugins
Few modern websites require plugins like
Flash or Java to run these days, but if
yours is one of them you need to change
this for your mobile site. Even if they
support these plugins on paper, many
mobile devices will slow down to a crawl
when encountering them. The fact is
though, that no Apple device supports
Flash and they have publicly stated that
they never will.
Rule #5: Put some thought into
social media Integration
Too many websites throw up 10 big
sharing buttons on all of their pages in an
attempt to encourage social activity. On
mobile devices where space is limited, this
will look very cluttered. It will also slow
down loading times considerably.
Instead, consider focusing on just 1-2
sOcial platforms. You probably know
already if you're getting the most "bang for
your buck" from Twitter, Facebook or
anything else.
Rule #6: Give the user a choice
Even if your mobile website offers
everything your full site does, it still makes
sense to offer mobile users the option of
viewing the full site. They may simply be
more familiar with it, or they may be using
an older device that doesn't fully support
your mobile design.
Whichever the case, it's always a good
idea to include a link somewhere on the
page that they can click to view the full
site instead
Rule #7: Test extensively before
going live!
At the very least, you need to check your
website from the most popular types of
devices. This includes an Android phone,
an Android tablet, an iPhone and an iPad.
There are also quite a few 'crossover"
devices out there, such as the Samsung
Note series or the iPad Mini. The more
devices you can test on before going live,
the better your chances of offering an
optimal experience for everyone. If you
don't have access toall these devices
yourself, or through friends, you can
always hit up your local electronics store!
Development or Do lt Yourself?
from Science Technology http://bit.ly/2W7B0rF
Comments
Post a Comment