How to optimize your website for mobile

In this article, we will describe ways to make your website more mobile-friendly and attract visitors.

Why optimizing your website for mobile devices is so important?

• Mobile-friendly sites show up higher in google search results
• More than half of searches on from mobiles devices.
• The majority of traffic, for most advertisers comes from phones
• If your website is optimized for mobile, visitors are more likely to return

Picture yourself as a potential customer and open your website on your phone. How fast does your website load? How easy is it to find what you’re looking for?

Designing your website for mobile means focusing on simple, clear navigation that connects people to what they’re looking for.

Elements important in mobile optimization

• Page speed
• Easy navigation
• Clear call to actions

Resource optimization

• Resize your images. Sounds simple, right? Well, I can’t keep count on how many times I have browsed a mobile site just to have 1980 x 1200 images load in the background. Instead, full-size photos should be provided as alternative links when appropriate. Resizing can shave off up to 80% of the total image size, depending on your required dimensions. For mobile devices though, there’s never a reason to go above the 600-700px range at most.
• Reduce file size with compression. Image compression/optimization is the process of using third-party software to reduce the number of colors present in an image. This can be done to a degree that your photos don’t lose their innate quality but can have their file size reduced drastically.
• Explore alternative file formats. Everyone has heard of PNG and JPEG file formats. After all, they are the de facto image standards on the web. But, not for long. The latest and greatest tech in digital image delivery revolves around WebP and SVG file formats. SVG’s, for example, can automatically scale, reducing the number of resources needed to load specific visual components.

Navigation optimized for mobile

On a smaller screen, it can be hard for people to find what they want. The more visitors have to hunt around or zoom in for information, the more likely they’ll get frustrated and leave. You can help visitors find what they’re looking for by simplifying your site menu and trying to keep everything visible without having to zoom in to read.

Help visitors find the right page without hassle, include clues within your drop-down menu. A clue could be a handy icon, a visual, or another helpful piece of information.

Clear call to actions

Your mobile website should make it quick and easy for visitors to perform common tasks such as contacting you, searching for a product, or making a purchase. Try to minimize the number of steps it takes to complete a form or transaction.

Your website should be designed for your specific business goalsȘ

• Increase online sales
• Get more phone calls
• Drive more online leads
• Encourage store visits
• Information and awareness