Guest Post by Catie Keeler:
More and more, people are accessing the web on-the-go from their smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices. However, not all websites show up the same way on a mobile device as they do on a computer. Many lose their functionality or their overall design when they are squeezed onto a smaller screen.
It is important for business owners to create a mobile version of their site to ensure that they are presenting the image they want to convey no matter how their customers access their information. Responsive designs, or those that adapt to the medium from which they are accessed, ensure that this happens.
Here are 4 tips for business owners to convert their site to a responsive design:
Simplify the Design
Lots of fonts, Flash animation, sliders, and complex frames might look amazing on a site, but they can make the screen look jumbled or messy when they are squeezed onto a smaller screen. Forget flashy animations and graphics and focus on the information instead. Simplify your design so that customers can easily navigate the site and find the information they need.
Pare Down the Graphics
Graphics can make your site look amazing — if your site is being loaded on a high-powered host and a computer that can handle the graphic load. However, most mobile devices don’t fit this bill.
Pare down the graphics on your responsive site so that your images and other elements do not make the site look cluttered on a smaller screen. Too many graphics can also make it hard to find the information needed on your site.
Highlight the Important Information
Most of the information you want your customers to see should appear on the screen when the site is loaded — without having to scroll the screen or to click on another page. Navigating a site can be cumbersome on a mobile device, which requires moving the screen or waiting for new pages to load.
Don’t risk your customers becoming frustrated or impatient and leaving your site. Make sure all the important information they need or the information you want to highlight is immediately available and easy to find.
Improve the Load Time
Most mobile devices operate on a wireless network, which may not always offer the best connection speed. If a site is slow to load, this can compound the problem. Don’t risk losing your customers because they don’t want to wait for your site to load. Improve the load time for your site so that it is accessible quickly and easily.
Creating a responsive version of your site is critical to the success of your online business since more and more customers are accessing the web on the go. You have to stay in control of the way your information is presented, no matter how it is accessed. Following these tips can ensure that you create a great user experience for your customers, no matter how they check in to your website.
What other tips do you have for creating a responsive web design? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Catie Keeler is the primary researcher and writer for mortgagerates.info. Her most recent accomplishments include graduating from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a degree in business and communications. Her current focus for the site involves mortgage rates and today’s mortgage refinance rates.
image via Smashing Magazine
