Mobile is King
Getting it right on phones and tabletsHaving a website that works well on a mobile device is paramount today
Obviously the answer is “no, stupid”, but it is scary how many websites don’t offer a good web experience, it is even more baffling how many simply don’t fit a mobile at all.
To be fair it has been a seismic change in the way websites have to be designed and constructed, and designers have often been slow to get switched onto it’s importance. It has also taken time for the tools and code we use to design sites to catch up with the functionality and requirements of mobiles. Add to that the fact that smartphones have been evolving and changing size at a dizzying rate and it has proven to be something of a minefield.
We use WordPress and it’s very happy on mobile
As a client, how aware of mobile web use should you be?
Obviously you should be able to get a breakdown of your specific sites traffic by device, you may well find that your site has a higher or lower percentage of mobile visitors than the average. Whatever the stats are it is crucial to realise that the trend in usage is going up and shows no signs of stopping.
The key things to remember for a mobile site
- Mobile first. Smart designers start with the mobile version in mind from the get go. This is where you really think about your content and how it is ordered and prioritised for the best user experience. The ‘id’ in Construct id stands for information design because that always comes first.
- Engage your visitor to hold them on your site – this rings true for any platform but is critical on mobile phones.
- It’s smaller than a laptop. Seems obvious doesn’t it? But keep this in mind when deciding on type size and the amount of copy to use. Creative ways of condensing content or linking to other pages for the deep detail exist.
- Make buttons and links easily usable on a phone, don’t crowd them together.
- Don’t use pop ups – such as a pop up box to encourage email subscriptions. Most phone browsers don’t support them so it essentially breaks your site.
- Have a ‘back to top’ button to save thumb ache.
- Be prepared to periodically audit your site usage and update or tweak it where necessary.
- Use a content management system that works well on mobile. That’s why we use WordPress.