3 Things Every Good Mobile Site Needs

Responsiveness for sites is now a necessity

By now, you know you need a mobile site. As basically every indicator points to the fact that mobile browsing is only becoming more and more prevalent, a mobile responsive site is one of the most important investments a company can make.

But as you make the decision to create and move forward with a mobile site redesign, you may find yourself wondering: What does a mobile site really need? What makes a great mobile site,and what should you prioritize as you go through the design process?

A simple interface

Let’s define what your mobile site needs by identifying what it doesn’t need.

• Pop-ups
• Flash
• Java
• Copious advertising
• Too much text

What do all of these things have in common? They’re cluttery and they may derail visitors  from using your site at all.

Your mobile user doesn’t need to be streaming a lot of video. They don’t need to be using a separate form to sign up for your email blast. They certainly don’t need to read three pages of “About” descriptions. What they do need is a way to find your physical store, a list of products you offer, an easy way to browse and shop, and a very clear button that allows them to contact you.

When it comes to a proper mobile interface, opt for a “less is more” approach. If there’s a lot of content you really, really want users to be able to access, make it easy for them to switch to the desktop view from their phone—and make sure that’s optimized, too.

Matched branding

Though a mobile site should be much more than just a simpler version of your homepage, you still want it to look like you.

Users who land on your mobile site only to find different colors, logos, fonts, or other branding elements may be confused and bounce out. Make sure that when they click through, they get exactly what they expect from your brand—and a landing page that smoothly leads them through the functions of the rest of the site.

Similar iconography, colors, and even features will help users know that they’ve ended up in the right place, effectively lowering your bounce rate and ensuring that your mobile site is doing its job.

Functional e-commerce or contact forms

Regardless of what you’re offering, your site needs to have a good way for potential users to buy it, request it, or at least reach out.

A good mobile site needs to have a clear way for users to engage with you and your products. And while it may seem tricky to create a functional e-commerce site on mobile, it’s actually fairly simple—and can lead to major conversions.

Even if your company doesn’t actually sell anything, you need to be prepared for users to want to contact you directly through the site. An easy contact form—one without a lot of tiny fields the user has to tap on and fill out—or other methods of communication (read: not something that has to pop up into their email or another app) is an essential way to ensure that your site is inviting and that you’re leading customers through the funnel in a way that makes sense for them.

Make your mobile site shine with efelle

Let the website design and development pros at efelle creative help you gain new customers with our CMS’s smart e-commerce features. Since 2005, efelle creative has worked with hundreds of businesses to help them with their web development needs. Call us at 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form to get in touch with a custom web design specialist.