Whether you’re self-employed or the owner of a large business, you likely have a website. If so, that’s great — but you need to make your website mobile-friendly, too. After all, 55% of website traffic now comes from mobile devices (Exploding Topics), so you’d be crazy not to do this.
The advantages of having a good mobile website are:
- More customers (especially from younger generations)
- A better user experience
- Improved searchability
Of course, you’ll want to experience all of these benefits, which is why you should start focusing on making your website mobile-friendly now instead of later. Otherwise, you’re going to miss out on tons of potential customers.
Here’s the golden question: What makes a good mobile website? You can breathe a sigh of relief because this guide has the answers for you.
1. Accessibility
A good mobile website is one that’s accessible to everyone. This way, people with disabilities can easily access your mobile site and feel included.
The first step is to understand the importance of auditing accessibility. By auditing your mobile website, you can instantly discover where you need to improve in terms of accessibility. Usually, the process goes like this:
- A business uses a web accessibility audit tool.
- The tool conducts a mobile accessibility audit.
- All of the underlying flaws are uncovered (e.g., improper heading structures).
- The business then fixes these issues.
- An accessible mobile-friendly website is created!
Yep, it’s really that simple. This is why you should use a web accessibility audit tool today so that you can start making the relevant changes to your website.
2. Simple Navigation
From iPhone to Android users, nobody likes a mobile site that’s difficult and clunky to navigate. Therefore, you need to make sure your mobile site is as simple to navigate as possible. This means having clear categories, easy-to-read fonts, and a distinguishable search bar. Also, try to avoid having huge blocks of text, as this usually leads to a mobile site becoming cluttered and unattractive.
3. Speed
Next, there’s the speed of your mobile website.
A good mobile website is fast. The faster, the better.
But how can you make your mobile site fast? Here’s what you need to do:
- Have a simple design
- Use compressed images
- Optimize the rendering order
Also, it’s a smart idea to reduce your mobile site dependencies. This way, users have fewer files to download, which means fewer HTTP requests. The end result? Fast loading times!
4. High-Quality Images and Videos
The best mobile sites have high-quality images and videos that have genuine value. You should always try to avoid using stock images and (instead) use original images and videos that have been professionally shot. It’s good for branding purposes and also makes your mobile site look better.
5. A Consistent Theme
Lastly, make sure your mobile site has a consistent theme. From the text to the color palette, everything needs to be consistent so that you can create a memorable user experience. If your theme changes from one page to the next, it’s going to cause confusion, which you obviously don’t want to happen. This is why consistency is key.