Does Your Mobile Site Reflect Your Desktop Site?
Dec. 30, 2020, 2:17 p.m.
Does it read properly?
Clearly a desktop screen and a mobile screen are different sizes. As such, the sizing of the content should reflect the screen it is being viewed on. Depending on what is being displayed, reading material on mobile should be readable without having to scroll from side to side. It also shouldn’t have tiny text – some of us have bad eyes. That doesn’t mean that you want to leave out content. The user should be able to get the same value from both views.
Have you considered glare on the screen?
For desktop users glare is generally not an issue since the user has more control of the lighting situation. Mobile users can be found anywhere in the wild, commuting, waiting in line, etc. Therefore, colors for readable content should contrast appropriately. Clear contrast is also important when thinking about accessibility concerns.
Is it cluttered?
It is safe to assume we have all been flustered at some point. Assume a scenario where the baby is crying, there is someone at the door, and they want to finish the mobile form before it times-out. A user can visit a site with a less than ideal head-space. You do not want to be on the receiving end of their frustration; make your site intuitive and free of clutter. Try keeping things simple by reducing the number of clicks necessary to navigate the site. Can your content comfortably fit in one column? Clutter can be taxing on the mind and may fatigue your user – which has the potential to lead to less engagement on your site.
Performance
Mobile devices are used in many different locations – sometimes with spotty data coverage. Anything that makes the page load longer – unnecessary drop-down menus, animations, fancy graphics – can make the site frustratingly slow for users on the go. Some fancy features are interesting to look at but do not add much functionality and come at the cost of performance. They should be kept to a minimum in the mobile view to avoid performance issues when your user only has one bar.
Functionality
Finally, you don’t want to remove functionality from your mobile site that is available on desktop. If filtering, menu options, search functionality, or content is not available on your mobile site, the user gets less value from that platform. In many cases, mobile viewers are outnumbering desktop viewers on your site; you don’t want to limit their experience. Ensuring that all core features are available on both mobile and desktop will keep your users happy no matter how they access your site.
Thinking about updating your site to make it more mobile-friendly?
Giving your site an overhaul to make it mobile-friendly can be a daunting task. If you need help, tap on that contact link – I’m here to help.