It is hard to deny the fact that there has been a considerable increase in the number of internet users who access the web through mobile devices. In fact, an interesting study points out that approximately 52 percent of the entire global internet traffic generated in the year 217 was through smart phones and other mobile devices. In fact, several experts claim that the smartphone user base all over the world is expected to cross the 6 billion mark by the year 2020. From the above-statements, it is evident that designing a mobile-friendly website has become critical now.
Numerous digital marketers also claim that the number of US citizens who access the web only through PCs will be reduced to 10.7 million by 2021. What’s surprising is that the number of Americans who currently browse the web through smart phones is approximately four times more. So, if you wish to protect your customer base and want to lure in more internet users to your website, then you must take a quick look at these following tips, as it will enable you to offer a captivate mobile-first experience to website visitors.
Optimize for Speed
Website loading speed is of significant importance when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and user experience. In fact, Google made an official announcement a few months ago, which confirmed that the web loading speed of websites will be considered as a ranking factor. So, you should do everything to improve the loading speed of your business website.
If you are running a WordPress website, then you should consider installing a CDN and caching plugin, as it will help you to optimize your website for maximum speed. In addition to that, you should consider optimizing the images in your website and simplify interactions for better results.
Simple Navigation
Most internet users who use mobile devices to browse the internet usually want the navigation to be simple and clean. The immensely popular ‘hamburger’ menu that comes with multiple numbers of lines stacked on top of one another is loved by millions of internet users from all over the globe. However, there are also users who do not like this type of menu.
So, the first and foremost thing you need to do is to try to understand the likes and dislikes of your site visitors. Individuals who are not used to new menu styles will find it a little bit difficult to navigate through your website. So, keep these things in mind when you are designing or customizing a website.
Focus on Improving User Experience
The primary goal of your website should be to offer a fine user experience to visitors in order to allow them to easily explore the website without any hassles. This in turn helps them to learn more about your products and services, which will have a major impact on their buying decision. This is one of the major reasons why you should put more focus on user experience when designing a website.
You need to realize the fact that several parts of a website have to optimized in order to provide a seamless user experience to website visitors. For instance, the text on your website will not look similar on devices with different screen sizes. If that’s the case, then users will have to zoom-in to view the contents, which can deprive them of a fine site visiting experience.
Use Minimum Content
As you would probably know, most website visitors prefer to visit websites with simple and clean layouts. The best things websites with clean layouts is that they use negative space in the pages to focus more on what’s more important. If you are able to put the negative space in your website to good use, then creating a streamlined and consistent user experience will be a fairly simple task.
That said, when you are following such an approach, you need to make sure that there aren’t any clutters when users are visiting your website from mobile devices. It is crucial to realize the fact that multiple number of form fields with plenty of page contents might not seem that appealing to site visitors. In fact, it may even drive site visitors from your website.
Mobile Connectivity Optimization
A recent survey conducted by experts in the field of website designing revealed a shocking revelation that the average time taken for a mobile landing page to load is around 22 seconds. The survey also pointed out the fact that approximately 52 percent of internet users prefer not to visit websites that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
If you wish to avoid such hassles, then you need to put more focus on two things. The first thing you need to do is to considerably reduce the size of your webpages. If you have already done that, then consider reducing the size of images on your website and if possible, cut down the number of images too. This will surely help you to reduce the page load speed of your site.
Use Video Contents
It is true that several website owners continue to use images on to promote their products and services. Unfortunately, the trend of using images on websites has become quite outdated over the last few months or so. Experts in the filed of digital marketing claim that video contents will soon gain popularity among internet users.
A study found that about 58 percent of the online video plays were seen by users on smartphones and other mobile devices. Using videos for advertising and marketing campaigns will surely do wonders from your business. So, make sure to use high-quality and engaging video contents.
Conclusion
The requirements of website designing projects will significantly vary from one to another. This means that most website designers will be using different practises when they are working on such projects. It is true that there are special rules on how to create a mobile-first website. However, if you are willing to follow the above-mentioned factors, then it will enable you to offer a fine user experience to visitors.