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Tips to be more mobile friendly

Being mobile-friendly isn’t a choice any more. More people than ever are choosing to use mobile – and that figure is only going to get bigger. So a strong mobile strategy is key to ensuring you don’t get left behind. Let’s look at a few ways you can be more mobile friendly this year…

Between 2013 and 2016 time spent on digital media grew by 53 percent – an exponential rate compare to previous periods. Of that growth, 80 percent was accounted for by mobile apps.

Mobile usage is at an all time high. Search engines are aware of this and have now altered their algorithms to take this into account. This is a worthy cause – they want to be sure that they provide users with the best possible SERPs, and if that means mobile-friendly content then they will certainly champion that.

Of course, this means that in order to avoid being penalised current businesses need to analyse their current strategy, and assess where and how they are focussing on mobile. Not only that, but content needs to be accessible where users spent most of their time.

What does a mobile strategy look like?

At it’s heart, a mobile strategy needs to be focussed on gaining – and retaining – audience attention. Optimisation is of course vital, but mobile use is fast paced and users are likely to move on quickly if content doesn’t appear to work for them. A good mobile strategy ensures that your content is accessible on the widest range of devices.

The likelihood is that you have already addressed the “mobile friendly” concept. It has been a big focus of digital strategies for quite some time now. But in order to stay relevant, we can all benefit from assessing how our efforts can be furthered. Here are a few tips to be more mobile friendly:

Ensure your content is optimised for mobile reading

Mobile is very different to desktop when it comes to content. Whereas you can create a great downloadable resource or document on these devices, often they are unsuitable for mobile. The good thing about mobile is that it actually compliments text. Just be sure that your content is formatted for readability and is skimmable in order to keep reader attention. Your mobile site should be void of unsightly widgets and excess buttons that take up the screen and distract readers.

Ensure you don’t scrimp on pixel density for images

Most mobile devices have high quality or HD screens. You content needs to look good on all screens, so you need to have high quality images for crisp viewing on 1080p and 4K screens. Focus on responsive design to ensure the ideal image size is show on mobile.

Ensure file sizes aren’t affecting load times

Load times are big business – especially on mobile. Try to keep file sizes as small as possible while retaining the best crisp visuals possible in order to ensure users don’t get bored and give up on your site. There are many tools that can allow you to reduce file sizes while retaining quality such as (obviously) Photoshop, but also some web apps.

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