Quick Info:
| Why care? | More than half of all website traffic is coming from mobile devices so you need to make sure your user experience is flawless across all devices. |
| Cost: | FREE |
| Who should do this: | Businesses who want to boost their SEO ratings and offer their clients more accessibility options. |
| Platform: | Website |
| How? | Read on… |
What is mobile optimization?
Mobile optimization refers to a website’s ability to work on a phone or other mobile device.
When you switch from a computer to a phone, parts of the website may look off. Images may become distorted, fonts may become too small to read, menus may disappear, and layout elements may become squished.
And we DON’T want that to happen.
Why should I care?
Aside from keeping our website looking clean wherever it appears, there are plenty of other reasons to optimize it for mobile use – like these!
- 50% of all shoppers use their phones to purchase items or products at least once a week.
- 6 out of 10 shoppers say that the ability to shop through their phone is essential in choosing a brand.
- 54.8% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.
- 70% of all digital media consumption comes from mobile devices.
- 53% of Pay Per Click (PPC) activity comes from mobile devices.
- Optimizing your website can enhance your overall SEO rating with Google, which makes up 96% of all mobile searches.
*Stats from Oberlo.com and Webfx.com
With over 6.8 billion smartphone users, it’s clear that phones and other mobile devices are becoming one of the top ways to search, view, and buy from the internet today- which is why ensuring that your website looks amazing and functions flawlessly on mobile is a top priority!
How to make our websites more mobile-friendly
Let’s look at four areas where you can make your website more mobile-friendly. They are:
- Your design
- The simplicity of your content
- Your CTA size and location
- Any Pop-Ups you may have
Let’s break it down!
1. Use a responsive design.
When you design your website, use a responsive template. That way, it can automatically adjust the layout to fit whichever device is in use while ensuring everything works. Be sure to preview the mobile version before you publish any updates.
2. Simplify your navigation menu, content, and forms.
No one wants to sift through miles of text before getting to the point – especially on a phone.
Menus should be hidden behind “hamburger” icons so they fold up nicely and stay out of the way until needed. (A hamburger menu is the 3-line icon ☰ that when clicked, reveals your website’s full menu.)
Forms should be sized appropriately for a phone. Cut out any unnecessary steps and keep it as simple and streamlined as possible.
As for content, it should already be as concise as possible. However, check that it stays within the frame, scrolls easily, and uses frequent line breaks to make skimming easier.
3. Check your CTA size and location.
Your CTA may be loud and proud on your desktop page, but where is it on the phone?
Make sure it’s clear, noticeable, and falls somewhere in the middle of the content. For more on writing effective, scroll-stopping CTAs, click here!
4. Eliminate pop-ups.
For mobile devices, pop-ups are the WORST. They take up space, can be impossible to close, and cause more frustration than they are worth.
If you have pop-ups on your site, make sure they’re disabled for mobile use, and find a better way of placing that information on a page that’s viewable on mobile.
Today’s task
✅ Pull out your phone and head to your own website. Assess every page using the four areas listed above.
What do you see? Does it work as intended, or are things more complicated than they should be? See some changes that should be made? Head into your website editor and get them done. Every minute they stay there means another sale you could be losing, so get ‘er done!
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