If you have a smart phone (and there’s a good chance you
do), you know that some websites are just easier to navigate on your phone than
others. On some websites the text is too small. On others, you need to click on
links that are impossibly hard to click correctly when tapping with your
fingers. This is frustrating! Consumers are easily annoyed when they need/want
to look at your content from a mobile device and they just can’t get what they
need. This isn’t just a momentary
problem for a business, but one that can have lasting effects. Almost half of
audiences today use a mobile device as their primary tool for content
consumption and consumers remember the websites that were difficult. I can
think of at least five right now that I never plan to visit from my phone
again. I probably won’t visit from my computer either. This means lost sales, all
because their website was a nightmare to navigate from a mobile device.
Don’t be one of these businesses! If you already have a
mobile plan in place for your website, that’s great. Make sure you maintain it
and constantly check it from a mobile device to make sure it’s easy to use. If
you don’t have a mobile plan in place for your website, you need to get one
ASAP. Your actual web design is going to
require more research, but there are two main directions you can head in.
First, you can create a mobile website with an
m.sitename.com domain name. The m
indicates the mobile site and your website will automatically redirect to this
site when accessed from a mobile device. Your mobile website should be set up
in a user friendly way, with easy links to what your customers want most. Think
about what your users are going to want to do from their phones. For example,
Delta’s mobile website gives you easy to click on links for checking into a
flight, booking a flight, and checking a flight status. It’s laid out
differently than the standard Delta website and is visually appealing and user
friendly for a mobile device. Imagine the annoyance customers would feel trying
to zoom in and scroll over to press the check-in tab on Delta’s normal website.
Having a mobile site makes things easier for consumers and therefore, better
for Delta too.
m.delta.com
delta.com
Your second option is to create a website with responsive
design. Responsive web design means designing a website that adapts to the user’s
environment. This includes screen size, platform, and screen orientation. By creating a website with responsive web
design, it doesn’t matter what device your site gets viewed with, the website
will adjust and not create excess difficulty for mobile devices. The good news is that responsive web design
is built into HTML5, so if you’re creating a new website, it shouldn’t be too
expensive.
It’s up to you to decide what is right for you and your
business. The important thing is that you have a mobile site so you can help
your audience to help you!
