I have a bone to pick with you web developers, business owners, and bloggers out there.\u00a0 Many of you don\u2019t have mobile-friendly sites.\u00a0 Why is this?<\/p>\n
Even back when I was living in the dark ages and was not using a mobile device myself, I understood that there were plenty of people around who were<\/em>.\u00a0 My sites all have a mobile version.\u00a0 Granted, I\u2019m running WordPress-powered blogs for the most part, so getting the plug-in wasn\u2019t exactly hard<\/em> or anything.\u00a0 I did it because I know that when you\u2019re bored, reading short pieces appropriate to a blog is a common way for the wired to entertain themselves.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t think it\u2019s just for blogging, though.\u00a0 More and more, people will be using mobile devices to search for information as they\u2019re going about their day.<\/p>\n Every one of us has looked around, at our friends and voiced that time-honored phrase, \u201cWhere do you want to go for dinner?\u201d\u00a0 We don\u2019t always ask this question in front of a computer or phone book.\u00a0 Make sure that you have a mobile-friendly page that shows your location, hours open, menu and a general idea of prices.\u00a0 It\u2019ll make it more likely for your customers to pick you.<\/p>\n Yes, that theme you designed is very pretty.\u00a0 Guess what? I can\u2019t see it on a screen smaller than the palm of my hand, and I\u2019m not visiting your site because it\u2019s pretty.\u00a0 If I read a blog regularly, it\u2019s because I find what you have to say<\/em> entertaining, informative, or more likely both!\u00a0\u00a0 Have a mobile version.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re worried about ad revenue, don\u2019t.\u00a0 On your mobile version, you can set it so that the ads show interspersed with the text or at the bottom of the screen.<\/p>\n Amazon has a mobile-friendly site.\u00a0 Big department stores do, too.\u00a0 If you sell products online, you really want your potential customers to be able to make an impulse purchase from their mobile phones.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to spend a fortune on a site that\u2019ll be friendly to your mobile customers,\u00a0 and you want to be able to make it easy for them to make that impulse purchase.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s assume you\u2019re convinced.<\/p>\n Mobile devices generally have a screen that is narrower than it is wide.\u00a0\u00a0 The user will be scrolling down a great deal to get to content.\u00a0 Make sure the most useful content is right at the top \u2013 rather like going for page rank on Google.<\/p>\n Make sure that your user doesn\u2019t have to click on too many internal links for the site to be useful.\u00a0 However, resist the temptation to put all of the content on one page.<\/p>\n Typing on a mobile is a pain.\u00a0 Make sure you\u2019re not forcing your user to fill out too many forms.<\/p>\n Think icons here.\u00a0 Don\u2019t integrate the image into the usefulness of the site!<\/p>\n Make sure you sit down and draw out not only a generalized design, but make some flow charts about how your user is likely to navigate the site.\u00a0 Test this with people who are not web developers until you can get a usage flow that makes sense and is fairly intuitive.<\/p>\n Remember that your main site, the one that people will be browsing on larger screens, can be considerably more elaborate.\u00a0 What you want here is a version of the site built specifically for your mobile user.\u00a0 If you\u2019re considering a new website, make sure that you get a designer that understands these principles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have a bone to pick with you web developers, business owners, and bloggers out there.\u00a0 Many of you don\u2019t have mobile-friendly sites.\u00a0 Why is this? Even back when I was living in the dark ages and was not using a mobile device myself, I understood that there were plenty of people around who were.\u00a0 … <\/p>\nWho Needs a Mobile-Friendly Site?<\/h1>\n
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What makes a website mobile-friendly?<\/h1>\n
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