Tips on Optimizing Your Website for Mobile Users

Since the number of people accessing internet vie their mobile devices is rapidly increasing, and is expected to continue to do so for some time to come, by not having a mobile optimized website you are turning away a huge number of potential visitors. This is to say that for the large majority of websites out there, there is really no good reason not to take this step and make their site available to the people on the go. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of tips that should help you provide your visitors with a smooth browsing experience.

Differentiate Between the Types of Optimization
Your mobile optimized website can come in one of three types:

• Site with the same URL and same HTML that rely on CSS to recognize the device that is used to access it and respond with the appropriate version – responsive website
• Site with the same URL, but differing HTML for different devices
• Site with different URL for the two versions of the site, with the URL of the mobile version being prefixed with m.

From an SEO standpoint (and basically from most of the other possible standpoints as well) the first type is preferred, and should probably be your first choice.

Keep it Simple

You have to be aware of the mentality of the people using their mobile devices to access your site. While on the go, they are probably coming to your site in order to get some quick info, like the location of your business, your phone number, or something similar. If the visitor is not able to immediately see what they came for, they could easily become frustrated. That’s why your pages should only contain the relevant information, and present it a convenient manner. If possible, the visitor shouldn’t have to scroll to see the info they are searching for.

Refrain From Putting Too Much Pressure on the Hardware

Mobile devices are (still) not as powerful as most PCs, and they simply don’t support some features that PCs do, which is why you should make your site as ‘light’ as possible. That’s to say that you shouldn’t use too many images or videos and that you should refrain from using Java or Flash, which are not supported on all devices. Naturally, this will also benefit the visitors because of the lower bandwidth that they probably have to use while on the go.

Give People the Option of Visiting Your Full Site

Even though most mobile users want to just quickly check something on your website, there may be instances when they are interested in finding out more about you and browsing your full site. You should make it easy for them do so, both for their sake and yours.

Refrain from Using Pop-up Windows

As irritating as they are on PC, pop-ups area at least twice as nasty on mobile devices, where navigations is sketchy even in the ideal circumstances. Do your users and yourself a favor and don’t make them leave your site in frustration.
Ella Zeen is writer and explorer of the internet and newest trends in technology. Lately she is exploring various optimization techniques and online advertising .