Traditionally, a website just had to be compatible with a computer or laptop since that is what the majority of people used to connect to the internet. If they did have an internet-enabled smartphone, the quality would have been poor, and they knew they would struggle to access the internet that way. It meant that web designers and website owners didn’t have to worry about making their websites mobile-friendly.
However, times have changed, and web design must now be mobile-friendly for a variety of reasons. One is that mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, account for more than half of all internet traffic; if the website can’t be seen or utilized on such devices, the person searching will go elsewhere. Another reason is that Google has started penalizing websites that aren’t mobile-friendly, decreasing their search engine rating. Both of these issues result in fewer sales, making having a mobile-friendly website more vital than ever. Here are some suggestions to get you started if you’re not sure how to go about it.
You Don’t Need Two Websites
When you hear the words “mobile-friendly website,” you might instinctively imagine that you will need to construct an altogether new website to compliment your current, laptop-friendly version. Thankfully, it is no longer true in the modern era, even though it was in the past. Having two websites is expensive and time-intensive, and Google will punish you for having duplicate material – something that is highly disapproved of even if the information was created by you.
Instead of building two websites with much the same information that can be accessed through separate devices, it is preferable to create a single website that can be accessed via both mobile devices and regular computer equipment. This should improve your ranking rather than harm it.
Use A Designer
You may not have wanted to hire a website designer at first, but if you want to guarantee that your site is mobile-friendly, it may be the best alternative. True, it will cost you more than going alone, but that is just the initial expense. Once you’ve paid for the design, you’ll notice that more people visit your website since it looks professional and is completely responsive to their demands. You should be able to recover your expenditures and even pay off any debts early if you have good pricing and a good business concept.
If you attempt to build your own website, you may be successful and end up with an appealing, functional, and mobile-friendly design. However, the time it will have taken you will have cut into whatever time you have available to work on your company, and it may have been a waste of time. It is essential to outsource whenever feasible in business to ensure that everything operates as smoothly as possible.
When you hire a web designer, make sure you discuss responsive design work with them. It is the capacity of your website to be viewed correctly and completely across multiple screen sizes, resolutions, and even layouts that makes the difference.
Think About The Font Size
Whether you are planning to outsource your web design or develop your own website, you will need to evaluate the font sizes that you want to employ. Don’t assume that since a tablet or smartphone has a smaller screen than a laptop (in most circumstances) or a desktop computer, the font must be smaller as well. You actually need at least 14px, which may seem like a lot, but it will keep users from having to zoom in and adjust their devices too much. Having to do this might put consumers off using your website, particularly if they can go to a competitor’s site and read it without having to resize anything. Although text size may seem to be a minor, if not unimportant, consideration, it may make a significant impact.
Another thing to consider is the size of the buttons. The size of your website’s buttons, like the size of your typeface, can transform a prospective transaction into a lost one. When selecting what size to employ in a situation like this, the most common rule is to go as large as possible. You don’t want a user on your website to click the wrong button and feel irritated, increasing their likelihood of leaving.
Images
A website isn’t complete until it has photos — a lot of text with nothing appealing to look at will not persuade readers to remain and read on, even if the information is instructive and valuable. When selecting images for your mobile-friendly website, use high-resolution images wherever available. That doesn’t mean they have to be large files that take a long time to load (this should be stopped at all costs since it slows down not just the website but also the user experience), but they should be of high quality. Nobody wants to stare at low-quality, pixelated graphics on their phones; it won’t help them make a buying choice and will make your website and organization seem unprofessional.
Use Videos
If there is one thing that a mobile device excels at, it is playing videos. Therefore it stands to reason that you should include some on your mobile-friendly website. Using YouTube videos rather than posting videos straight to your site is the simplest route to do this. Using YouTube means you won’t have to bother about scaling anything to ensure it can be viewed properly, and since YouTube is automatically optimized for mobile devices when played on them, it will greatly improve your visitors’ experience. Another advantage of utilizing YouTube is the ease with which you can connect your videos to other social media profiles and build your own YouTube channel to acquire more followers and customers.
You don’t even have to have expensive equipment to make a great video. A lot of the time, you can use your smartphone or tablet, and then download inexpensive editing software to make everything look great. Fancy editing is fine, but if you keep things simple and tell a good story, you’ll do well.
[Image via: Google Images]
