Nowadays, the majority of people visit online platforms by using mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. For this reason, it is vital for webmasters to develop websites that can be displayed on such devices. A survey conducted by adobe revealed that about 50 percent of marketers do not have their websites optimized for mobile devices, even though there is increased use of these gadgets on the market. Online competition is Boisterous and without a well mobile-friendly website, it is easy to lose prospect clients and even get out of the picture. So how do you get started? First, you can start by reviewing the kind of mobile designs adopted by your competitors, if any, and contrast them to your own. You can learn a lot by doing this and thereby optimize your website for mobile gadgets.
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Regardless of the philosophy you choose to embrace, there are fundamental principles that guide every mobile website design. The following are 7 integral principles of mobile web design that you can consider.
1. Use relevant, update and popular content
Determine the content that most visitors will likely search for when they visit your website and place it in front and center of your page layout. Verify that the content is not only readable but also easy to find. Otherwise, your visitors will just whisk off to other websites, which are comfortable to navigate using mobile devices. Mobile users are dissimilar from the desktop audience, and your goal is to find out what your customers are searching for and simply cater for it.
2. Make your content Accessible
Although it can be hard to make everything visible, mobile users should at least be able to access the majority of the content posted on your site. Therefore, strive to make everything available so that your prospective visitors can retrieve the information they require with ease when they visit your site.
3. Minimize navigation options
As mentioned, the content that you include in front and center of your page needs to be chosen keenly. If you want to be make the site a mobile-friendly one, limit the number of options, clicks, and menu layers. Experts in E-consultancy commend marketers to use at most three menu layers and not more than six to five menu items.
4. Buttons Spacing
It is a common thing for one to click the “reload” button while intending to hit the “submit” button. That is because human thumbs can at times be inaccurate at pointing. Thus, placing the buttons extremely close together can be pretty frustrating.
Additionally, refrain from using minute fonts as well as minuscule buttons. Rather, use easy to click and sized elements.
5. Choose Appropriate Media Elements
Whereas the artistic design of your site is of extreme importance, you will also have to reflect on media elements. This is because media elements can make mobile browsers trip. Avoid using image files that are overly large and big fonts that load redundant characters. Furthermore, keep in mind that some mobile operating systems may have trouble playing certain video formats – for instance, those in Flash format.
6. Avoid Pop-ups
In general, pop-ups are just baffling. The majority of the online audience will get frustrated when they navigate a site with awfully numerous sign-up boxes and pop-up surveys. Even so, a great way to make your site mobile friendly is by not using these pop-ups. If it is necessary to use them, try to limit their number.
7. Minimize the Text Input Required
Typing with the thumbs is somewhat tedious for mobile users, particularly when it comes to input of long texts. It is not as efficient as typing on a computer keyboard. Of course, they are those who have devised a way doing it proficiently, but additionally they are individuals still working their way out of it. Hence, keeping the text input required for a minimal is a good approach to making your website mobile friendly.
Even so, a lot can be said about the principles to follow in order to develop a mobile-friendly website. There are definitely other things to consider – for example, you have to test how your pages appear when viewed from mobile devices, technical capability, etc., Nonetheless, a mobile friendly website is going to attract many mobile users, which can be a huge investment in your business.
Thanks for sharing your effective web design principles.
A lot of web site owners do not pay attention to these tactics, and as a result, they have poor poor Google Analytic metrics (high bounce rates, low pages per visit, low time on site, and low conversions).
I personally believe that design is not only the responsiblity of graphic designers. Design is also for marketing people. Design is also your product or your brand and how it works.
So, the more people learn about website design principles like the ones you shared in this article, the better their results will be.
I have also created a similar articles on 9 effective website design principles that will make people’s website look aesthetically pleasing, engaging, effective, and not to mention easy to use.
Please click my author name (above) to learn about the effective website design principles for 2016.