If you’re trying to remain competitive in your industry through the use of digital marketing, optimizing your website for mobile devices is a must. In 2018, 52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones, up from 50.3 percent in the previous year. And with 80% of Internet users also being smartphone owners, it is easy for one to realize the importance of making sure their website caters to mobile usage.
Consumers worldwide are still using their desktops and laptops, but when it comes to shopping or researching, these devices are rapidly being replaced by mobile phones and tablets. As a result, webmasters and developers need to tailor their website design efforts to the current trends and consumer behaviors.
Whether you’re a veteran web designer or a beginner who’s just now learning the basics, you can always benefit from learning about website optimization for mobile devices. In this blog, SERP Matrix provides some helpful information that will assist you in creating a website that mobile users love.
Careful Use of Screen Real Estate
It’s quite obvious that you can’t display the same amount of information on a mobile phone as you can with a desktop monitor. As a result, web designers need to be very selective of what they choose to prominently display on their websites. Too much text alongside an overload of graphics can not only hurt page load speeds, but it can also diminish the user experience.
Thankfully, there are some clever methods you can employ to help save space on your screen. Using a sidebar menu can help you keep your webpages clean and free of clutter, while still giving your users the chance to easily navigate the other sections of your website.
Including a search bar on your mobile website can also help you avoid having a homepage that contains an overflow of content. By encouraging your users to search for the services, products, or information they need, you don’t have to fill your webpage with extensive listings that clutter your design.
Image Compression
Everybody wants their website to look nice, and using captivating visuals are important for anybody who is trying their best to wow their visitors. However, this must be done in a way that doesn’t wind up hurting your website in the long run.
Improperly using images can slow down your page load speed and cause you to waste valuable screen real estate. Visual elements are the biggest bandwidth consumers on web pages, and they can cause your visitor to quickly leave your website if they are experiencing a slow page load.
There are a few things you can do to make sure your visuals aren’t compromising your website’s responsiveness. First, make sure you resize your images. In most cases, there is no reason to have a 1920 x 1200 image stuffed into a mobile website, and if you’re making this mistake, your website is not yet fully optimized. Another tactic you can employ is image compression. By using a third-party software to reduce the number of colors present in an image, you can reduce file size of your photo without your visual losing its integrity. There are many free compression tools such as TinyPNG and Compressor that can help you save some room on your website.
Quality Web Hosting
Choosing the right web host for your website is a crucial decision that will have an effect on your website’s final level of optimization. Not every hosting service will have the customer support, resources, and speeds your business needs, and if you wind up choosing the wrong service, you will run into insurmountable issues that will continue to plague your website until you change providers.
Experts typically suggest a Virtual Private Server for the best hosting experience. Choosing a VPS will usually give you access to perks such as expandable RAM and storage, a plethora of server resources, unlimited bandwidth and traffic, and a responsive customer support team that’s always around to help you troubleshoot any issues you may be having.
Maintaining Fast Page Load Speeds
Page speed has always been important, but with the increase in users using their mobile devices to load up their webpages, this has become an absolute must-have for individuals who are trying to make the most out of their web design efforts. To have a fully optimized website for mobile usage, you must have a fast page load speed time.
Improving your website’s speed can be done in many ways. As previously mentioned, compressing your images can help you reduce your file sizes without harming the quality of the image. Also, using a Content Delivery Network can allow you to deliver your website’s files from one central location, meaning that your users can expect consistent page speeds regardless of their current location.
Consistent Website Testing
Last but not least, you are going to want to consistently audit and test your website to ensure it is operating at peak performance. Web design trends and standards change rapidly, and if your website’s structure is outdated, regularly testing it can help you understand what’s wrong, and how you can fix it.
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Tool is one of the many tools that will help you understand your website’s performance and how it can improve. This piece of software allows you to determine whether your website is mobile-friendly by analyzing its structure and providing helpful feedback. It can identify issues such as your text being too small or your clickable elements being too close in proximity.
You can also test your website using Google’s Mobile Speed Test tool. This tool is easy to use; all you have to do is enter your website’s URL and click Test. Once this happens, the software will analyze your website and provide you with your current load speeds alongside some additional information, such as your competitor’s speeds, and tips for making your speed faster.
SERP Matrix | Website Design Services Houston TX
You now have some of the basic tips and instructions you’ll need to improve your website and increase its speeds. By following these guidelines and making sure you’re doing everything in your power to keep your webpages fast, responsive, and properly optimized, you’re giving yourself a great opportunity at converting your website visitors into clients and customers.
SERP Matrix understands the importance of having a quality website that mobile users love to interact with. The digital age is continuing to evolve at a rapid pace, and there are no signs of mobile use slowing down. If you need help building an optimized website that pushes your business forward, we are here to assist you. For more information on our web design services, call us today at 713-287-1134 for a free consultation.
