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Ways to Lose Mobile Users – FAST
DIY Sprocket Solutions
This article was updated on 1/16/2024 with the article entitled “If Your Website Is Annoying Mobile Users, It's Long Past Time to Fix That.”
Here, in the age of mobile internet, you may think that it’s nearly impossible to lose mobile readers. Well, you’d be wrong about that. Even though a vast majority of people are checking in while on the go, an increasing number of people are getting fed up with certain annoyances associated with reading articles or visiting websites when using their phones. What are these huge annoyances?
Let me set the scene for you. It’s late, you’re checking your Facebook for the 143rd time today, and you see a great article your friend just shared. So you click, a new window opens, and BOOM. Full page ad. Which is fine, you’ll just ‘X’ out right? In theory, but you can’t find the ‘X’. The screen won’t shrink. It’s already past your bedtime and now you’re over it.
That article (and that website) just lost a new reader, visitor, or potential customer.
Another big issue mobile users are having is overly aggressive apps. Let’s take Pinterest for instance. If you visit Pinterest on your iPhone, you’ll be rerouted to the app store. If you don’t download the app, you can go back to the website and try to click ‘continue in desktop view’. I say try because that option is apparently only available on the third Wednesday of the month at high noon on a full moon unless the day ends in the word ‘day’. Otherwise, you’re stuck in an endless loop of being rerouted back the app store. Mobile users are over it. Shouldn’t they be able to use the internet on their own terms? Shouldn’t users be able to decide which apps they want to download and which sites they’d rather just visit at their leisure?
It seems like mobile sites are getting a little pushy with their wants from users. Click this ad! Download this app! Click through 17 pages to find out which Kardashian’s name starts with ‘K’!
It’s a little much. My recommendation for businesses making the jump to mobile friendly sites? Make them user friendly. Yes, it’s important to adapt your website to be functional on mobile devices. However, it is not necessary to force users into situations that will turn them off from your site (and possibly your business) altogether.
So, what are your thoughts on mobile sites lately? Have you been having less than effortless interactions? What has your experience been? Feel free to comment below!
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Breanne Bannon
Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.
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