As most people have their favorite communication gadgets (smartphones and tablets) with them almost all the time, as a website designer, you should be paying attention to what your website experience presents to these mobile users.
It’s still a relatively new phenomenon that many people do most of their browsing on their gadgets, but it’s still something that you should plan for in the design stage. To account for this, follow these five tips – if you can, have the experts do the heavy design work, be sure to test your site with every possible device, create a survey to get user feedback when possible, keep the audio presence in mind, and balance out your subtle and screaming elements.
Have the Experts Create a Custom Design
Depending on your industry, get custom work done when possible. For example, because drug rehab traffic is a very competitive playground for marketers, if you really want to shine, especially on mobile, have a company custom design your drug rehab site from the ground up, with your specific vision in mind. Not only will it be an amazing design on mobile devices, it will already have the SEO built into it.
Test Your Site With All Phones and Tablets
Gadget displays are notoriously touchy. That means once your mobile site is up, test it on every possible device. iPhones, iPads, Windows machines, expensive phones, off-brand displays, all the different sizes of tablet – it’s all fair game. You never know where your clients are going to come from, but if they decide that you haven’t considered their particular gadget when it comes to website display – that’s a great way to lose money right there, just because of lack of attention to detail. There are great tutorials on mobile website display testing.
Create a Survey for Potential Browsers
If you create a survey for people to take who have browsed through your website, you’ll get immediate and extremely valuable feedback. The quicker you respond to this feedback, the more potential clients will appreciate their mobile experience.
Keep Audio In Mind
A big part of the mobile browsing experience is the audio involved. Because mobile device speakers are smaller, have a narrower range, and are less powerful, it’s important to note that in your website design. It may take a few tries before you come up with the right output levels.
Balance Out the Subtle and the Screaming
Internet sites compete with each other by nature. That said, many people avoid the sites that scream too loudly for attention, because it feels like there is a gimmick involved. A smart designer will know how to balance the subtle and the gaudy, especially for mobile display.