Customers are won and lost every day due to strong or poor user experience design. Good design is becoming even more important with mobile, as your responsive website is more likely be viewed on a mobile device. If it’s not the perfect combination of intuitive and useful characteristics, your visitors will leave and never look back.
Good mobile website design has a clear focus on user goals and removes any obstacles by bringing seamless clarity to the interface. Take a look at your website’s mobile version and see if you need to implement any of these tips to improve your user experience.
Simplified Navigation
While every aspect of your mobile website should be simplified, the navigation should be the simplest. It needs to be easily identifiable and able to expand with a touch. Sizing is a big factor worth considering; if items are too small or too close together, it could stunt the overall user experience and leave your visitors frustrated. If the search is an essential function of your mobile website, don’t hide it in the menu. Display it at the top of the screen or have a clear reference (such as a magnifying glass icon) that will activate the search bar.
Make sure the navigation is as simple as possible for your users to explore your mobile site. No matter which layout you choose, always make sure the design focuses on the user experience.
One-Hand Operation
Today, smartphone screens come in many different sizes. No matter how big or small a user’s screen may be, they should have the same experience across all devices. Studies show that 85% of people use one hand when using their smartphones, and with Apple releasing a larger screen with every new iPhone, single hand operation is becoming increasingly difficult. Accessing all the necessary areas with only your thumb can be a real struggle.
When adapting your design to improve the user experience, you need to keep the most important action items and frequently used controls in the “green zone” (refer to this blog from Scott Hurff’s blog to see where this zone is). This zone identifies the area that can be easily accessed with your thumb. The elements that need to live in the red zone should be any destructive actions (such as the back button) that users could accidentally tap. This is one essential key to meeting the needs of the modern consumer.
Enhance the User Flow for Effortless Engagement
Think about your audience and when they would be looking at your mobile website. Often times, they are viewing it when they are on the go or need to perform a single action. Whether that action is to contact you, look at your menu or find out something quickly, it’s important to define your key goals and remove any obstacles from tarnishing the streamlined user experience.
Once you have a good grasp on that, look into ways to remove unnecessary elements. Ask yourself if certain information can be represented in a photo instead of text or if sections of your desktop version can be removed for mobile. No matter what questions you ask yourself, always choose the answer that’s in favor of the user experience.
When designing a better mobile website, make sure you are always testing it and getting feedback from other people. Use their insights to continue improving the overall user experience, and you’ll end up with an effective, user-friendly mobile website!
To learn more about mobile web design, contact GreenMellen today!
