Website design for mobile devices is very different from designing for PCs.
As mobile web browsing becomes the norm, it’s increasingly important to design websites for mobile use as well as for desktop browsing. Making a website work well on a mobile browser is challenging for a number of reasons.
The first and obvious challenge is that mobile devices have smaller screens, which means that the amount of information you can display is also much smaller. More of your information will be below the fold, so users will have to scroll down to read it all, plus they will have to zoom in to read the text. Fortunately, most modern browsers make zooming in and out relatively easy but nevertheless, if you try to pack too much information into the page your user is going to have to work quite hard to read it. To overcome this, ensure that your mobile pages are clean and simple with easy to read fonts and lots of white space and that important information is included near the top of the page.
Mobile devices have a lot less processing power and bandwidth than PCs so to ensure that pages load quickly and don’t require users to download a lot of data try to avoid using too much Java-script, large image files and high definition embedded video and that users only load what they need.
Because many mobile devices use touch screens it’s also a good idea to ensure that there is easy navigation, any buttons and controls are a decent size and that you don’t require your users to type in too much text using the fiddly on-screen keyboard. Instead, use shortened URLs, keep forms short and pre-fill as much information as possible. Apply the one finger test to all navigation and user interaction and include click to call and one tap pages to make it easy for your users to contact you or take whatever action you want them to.
Perhaps the single biggest factor that affects web design for mobile devices is the way they are used. Most mobile phones are used in portrait orientation, so take this into account when designing the layout of your mobile website. As a general rule it is advisable to opt for a single column layout, avoid extra-wide images and ensure that the navigation is across the top or the bottom rather than down the side. Remember also that when users are looking for information on the move it’s because they need it quickly. Mobile users have a very short attention span and every second counts, so make sure that you grab their attention with an eye catching headline or image and give them what they need as soon as they hit your landing page.
When designing websites for mobile devices keep it simple, test and tweak everything until you’re confident you’ve provided the best possible experience for your mobile users and you will be well on the way to a mobile website that converts well and brings a stream of new customers to your door.
Do you have any additional tips to offer on designing websites for mobile devices? If so, leave a comment below. And don’t forget to check out our Mobile Marketing pages for more information about the different ways you can easily incorporate mobile into your marketing mix.
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Comments
Yes, definitely the website designing for mobile and PC’s would be different for obvious reasons. Your article is great and focusses on a lot of important issues.
After reading this post, I realized that I found it more easy and fun to browse websites on my smart phone rather than turning on my pc. Very good and beautiful article.
Well, I designed many websites for mobile devices and always found it harder than designing for pc’s or tablets. As you said, the thing which challenged me the most was to implement my ideas for different sizes of mobile devices. But I found the ways. And I agree with your post and I just wanted to share my thoughts.
Mobile has different features then the PC, so it is difficult to create a website for mobile. Different peoples handles the mobile with different style.
I am the one who thank you.you have done a good job and i did not know about the one finger test.it can help a lot in my design for mobile devices.
Thanks for sharing your article I agree now day you need to keep your design all aspects of way that it will easy viewable in all smart phones.Can you please let me know the size I should use for Iphone apps design ?
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Very effective article.I always used to customize my font size of the article with my target market.For example if i am writing for teenagers then i used different approach.If I write for mature people Then i ork differently.You need to have a design after seeing your target market.
Great Idea You have to test your website properly. I have a confusion that What we need to develop new mobile website for existing one.
Great article I did not know about the one finger test. It can help me a lot in my design for mobile devices.
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