Here are some tips to create mobile ready website. Industry experts are predicting that by 2015 there will be more people browsing the Internet using a smartphone or other mobile device than those browsing using PCs or laptops. With mobile devices dropping in price and mobile Internet speeds increasing, it is becoming easier than ever to simply pull out your phone and tap a few buttons to find what you need. With the integration of voice chat, these numbers have only gained momentum.
A recent Infographic by Microsoft reveals that 50-percent of people who mobile phones have performed web or map searches. With over one billion smartphones in the hands of users around the globe, this is a significant portion of traffic your website could be missing. These five tips will help to make sure that your website is ready for the shift towards mobile browsing.
Avoid Using Flash When Possible
In 2011, Adobe officially announced that it would no longer be actively developing Flash for mobile devices. While there are apps and other tweaks that users can make to enable some Flash functionality on their mobile devices, the average smartphone simply does not handle Flash content well.
Fortunately, many of the uses for Flash can be handled using HTML5. By transitioning your video and navigation content, you can ensure compatibility with most mobile browsers without changing the overall experience for laptop or PC users.
Optimize Your Site’s Loading Times
Though the speeds of mobile Internet access are increasing, they still lag behind traditional broadband in many markets. This makes any delays on your site even more apparent for those attempting to access the site using a mobile browser. Using site caching, optimizing images for web display and reducing the number of images used on your site can all help to improve loading times.
Refine the Navigation Experience
Common items, such as drop downs or toggle boxes, can be tricky to use on a smart phone. When designing your interface, check to see how many of your navigation items require multiple interaction points. If items require more than a simple mouse-click or finger tap, they could cause problems for mobile browsers.
Using padding between navigation buttons and other interactive elements on your site can also help to make up for the lack of precision on many mobile browsers. Also Read : How to Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly.
Consider Separate Mobile Designs
If you have a heavily branded website, use in-depth navigation systems or simply cannot find a way to adapt your current design, consider making an entirely separate site for mobile users. Many sites accomplish this by simply creating a sub-domain of their site and redirecting any mobile user agents to it.
This allows you to a separate experience that is optimized for mobile consumption. While this offers the most flexibility, it is the most complex way of ensuring mobile compatibility. In most cases, a high-contrast and clean site design is the best choice for mobile browsers. If you choose to implement a mobile design, be sure to include links to your standard design as well to provide choices for the user and improve search engine crawler compatibility.
Integrate Mobile Features
Mobile browsers allow for a wide range of features that are not easily accessible on traditional browsers. Using HTML phone numbers will allow viewers to tap a phone number to place a call instead of having to input the number manually. Geo-location services can provide additional information about business hours, locations or services based on the user’s current location.
Contact cards make it simple to store your businesses information in the user’s phone. Each of these features are easy to integrate into a website and can offer outstanding benefits.
Do you know more ways to make mobile ready website? Share with us via comments below.
Article by Vishal
Vishal Gaikar is a professional blogger from Pune, India. If you like this post, you can follow him on Twitter.
