Let’s face it, these days everyone pulls out their phones when they need to make a search. Whether they’re on the go or just sitting at home, it’s easier than ever to pull up a website and check out a company from your mobile device. When you host a website for your business, you want to make sure that users can view it easily in any format. It’s crucial to make sure that your site is set up for mobile browsers. So here are five essential tips for optimizing your website for mobile devices.
1. Work with Experts
One of the best, foolproof ways to optimize your website for mobile is to work with expert website designers. These are people or teams of people that live and breathe web design. They’ll be able to take a look at your site and figure out some of the best techniques to make it easy for users to visit on their phones. Working with a company like Anyday can give your brand the digital leg up that it needs.
When you work with experts, they’ll be able to evaluate your business goals and how those translate to your brand and website. From there, you can hone in on your ideal branding while making sure you have a seamless user experience. If web design isn’t your forte but you want your business to be set up for success, it never hurts to get a quote from a team of experts.
2. Use Responsive Web Design
Responsive web designs make it easy to optimize your website for mobile. A responsive design will automatically adapt the information on your site depending on the screen size and orientation of that screen.
Most websites are optimized for horizontal screens, but mobile sites need to be set up for vertical viewing. When you use a responsive web design, it will help format those elements that need to be vertical. This includes photos. Your photo sizes need to be compressed on a mobile view. Responsive web designs will compress your photos and make sure they can be viewed on your mobile site.
3. Add Search Functions
When users are scrolling through a mobile site, it’s not as easy to get back to their original page. Mobile users want immediate answers. You can make it easier for them to find those answers by adding search functions. These include search bars at the top of a site, or the bottom of the site if a user scrolls down.
Make sure that the search function is easy to use on mobile as well. Users want to find what they are looking for quickly. When they make a search, you can add suggested results. Making it easy for them to find what they’re looking for can lead to longer user times and even more sales.
4. Increase Website Speed
Users tend to stay on mobile web pages for much longer when they don’t run into loading issues. The longer a user has to wait for a page to load, the more likely they’ll move on to something else. One necessary way to optimize your website for mobile is to make it faster. There are a couple of ways to do this.
First, you can compress images so they don’t take forever to load on a page. You can also minify the amount of code on a website so that it will load on a device at faster speeds. If you are more into the technical side of web design, you can decrease HTTP requests and look into how to lower server response times. Putting all of these tools together, you can create a website that is fast and responsive for all users.
5. Try Out the Site
One of the only ways to know if your mobile site is easy to use is to use it! Before you make your adjustments, check out your own website on your mobile device. Take note of things that are frustrating, hard to use, or difficult to see. If you pretend you are a user or potential customer, you’ll have a better understanding of how your own users will interact with your site. From here, you will be able to have a list of upgrades that will make your site easier and more friendly to use.
Conclusion
Your website is one of the first things a user will see when they find your business. If users are looking for a quick response on their phones, you want to make sure your site shows it to them. Optimizing your website for mobile is the perfect way to ensure users can always find what they’re looking for from your business. Say goodbye to missed opportunities and hello to new mobile customers.
