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While “Mobile First” Is Ancient History, User Experience Is Crucial
Since we first wrote about developing “mobile first” websites, the internet has changed drastically. Mobile-first indexing is now standard, but while your website may tick off the tech requirements, how does its usability rank?
Today’s website should work well whether on a phone, a tablet, or on a desktop computer. In the early days, you might have a main website as well as a simplified version for mobile devices. Now, responsive web design is commonplace, with one URL adapting to different screen sizes.
Users want the same experience on different devices
Yes, desktop computers have more web traffic than mobile phones, but only by a few points, 50% vs 47%. And that use is heavily influenced by the website’s industry. The customers of news media, e-commerce, and travel websites are much more likely to use their phone than the clients of an investment company.
Still, about half of everyone in the U.S. surfs the web on their phones, and when they arrive at your mobile site, they expect to see all the same information they would get sitting at their desktop computer – and in an intuitive way. Just because your website automatically rearranges itself to be viewable on a mobile device does not mean that the new arrangement properly facilitates the customer journey.
Focus on the mobile website’s usability
Nobody likes pinching and zooming. The quickest way to annoy your customer is to force them to use finger gyrations to read the text, find the buttons, or see the menu tabs. Viewed on a mobile device, web content should still be painless to read and laid out in an orderly fashion.
If you want customers to click on your “buy” button, it needs to be big enough for their fingertip. If you want them to go to your order page, make sure the menu is easy to navigate. And if you want them to fill out a form, it had better be really, really simple because we all know how tricky that is to do on a tiny screen.
What’s good for mobile is good everywhere
Usually when folks are on their mobile phones, they are in a hurry. Got a slow-loading website? Too bad – they’ve already moved on.
The good news is that improvements to your website’s mobile usability will also improve your standing across the internet. Weeding out unnecessary plug-ins and third-party tools, scaling down large images, and tightening up your code make your mobile site more efficient and will boost your overall optimization as well.
It’s easy to get caught up in the technical side of website design to appease the SEO bots, but remember that bots are not your customers. Always focus first on the humans who want what you offer and are trying to navigate the internet to find it. Concentrate on providing an excellent user experience on your website, especially when your customer is using their mobile phone. Is your current website up to the challenge? If not, give us a call to see how the Sprocket team can help.
Photo by Mariano Di Luch
This article is an update to “Prepare for Google’s Mobile First Index,” dated 5/4/2017
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Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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