Onsharp

Did you know that the total number of mobile internet users is expected to reach 134 million by 2013 according to the research firm, eMarketer? With 134 million users, it's pretty safe to assume that at least a few of these people are going to be visiting your mobile site, so it is important that you make your site mobile-friendly.

A mobile site is different than a regular site as it has to be seen in a screen that is merely a few inches in size. You don't want a user to feel like your mobile site is cramped or they will leave. You want these users to have a great experience with your site so that they can recommend it to others and continue to visit it themselves. To make the best of your mobile site, there are several things you should consider when designing and creating it.

Create Smart Navigation

We have all visited websites where the navigation leaves a lot to be desired. No one wants to have to work hard to navigate a page; in fact it is these websites that users leave right away, so it is especially important with a mobile site that you use smart navigation. You want to provide your users with a clear, distinct, and simple way for them to navigate your site.  A great way to improve the user experience with your site is to use tabs that will enable your users to access specific sections of your website. Another great point with navigation is that vertical scrolling is much easier to do than horizontal scrolling. Simple navigation will create a better experience for your users so that they will want to come back to your site. 

Reduce Amount of Content

Content is a very important aspect of a website, however when it comes to a mobile site you should only include the most important content. Reason being, not everything shown on a computer screen can fit reasonably onto a mobile web page. If you try to put every bit of content you have on your mobile site, your users are going to start feeling cramped and will give up trying to search through all the content. Mobile websites should be focused so make sure you put your high-priority content out there and either link to your low-priority content or don't include it at all. It is also important that the content you do include is concisely written.

Don't Use Too Many Images

Don't get me wrong, images are great. However when it comes to a mobile site, images take up a lot of space and can make the pages take longer to download. Images are great for breaking up a story and for getting your point across, however one or two photos are all you should include on a mobile site. Including more than that may clutter your page and make it hard to navigate, which will ultimately cause your user to leave your site. To make sure that your site will help the user, don't clutter your page with images that don't add substance.