Top 10 Common Mobile Website Design Mistakes
Mobile website design has its own unique requirements. People don’t access information on their mobile the same way as they access it on their desktop or laptop. The screens and buttons are different sizes and the time constraints also vary. Forgetting the differences can lead to many mistakes. Let’s take a look at the 10 mobile website design mistakes that occur most often.
- Not doing research ahead of time
It’s important to check out what your competition is offering on their mobile websites. Make a list of things you want to include and things which you want to avoid. You also want to research what your customer wants in a mobile website. Assembling this data will make it easier to meet your customers’ needs.
- Crowded icons and links
It can be very frustrating for mobile users to have to click on icons and links that are too close to each other when working with such a small screen, especially a touch-screen. Accidentally pressing the wrong link can drive users crazy. They usually have to wait longer for pages to load anyway- correcting mistakes just adds more time.
- Too much text
It’s always been a rule of thumb to leave plenty of white space by avoiding chunky text on web pages, and it is even more important on the small mobile screen. Your pages should be streamlined, easy to follow, and straight to the point. Cut out the fluff and provide a clear interface.
- Not taking advantage of mobile features
You can include things in a mobile site that are not useful in a regular website. For example, customers always appreciate phone numbers with links so that they can call your business instantly without having to change screens. Also, why not include small polls or feedback prompts that users can text back quickly. Finally, make it simple for users to share your content with email links, share buttons, and other social media tools.
- Forgetting how long it takes to load a page
A person on their mobile probably doesn’t have a lot of time to waste waiting for a page to load because most likely they are looking for information right in the moment. Don’t include large images or icons that will add to loading time.
- Not identifying site as mobile
People expect different versions of websites depending on whether they are on their phone or their computer. While you want to offer them the standard site if that’s what they prefer, go ahead and offer them the app version so they know factors like download speed and device-specific features are taken into account.
- Taking away the essential website features
Don’t streamline the experience so much that customers end up disappointed that they can’t access the tools they expect. Research will help you to avoid this. The other solution is to offer users both versions.
- Leading user on a never-ending journey
Navigation needs to be clear. Don’t set up the user to get three or four pages deep without a clear ‘Back’ button. Nobody wants to be left with no choice but to return to the ‘Home’ screen, which eliminates all of their hard work. Unfortunately many times the navigation bars are so sparse that people take the chance that they are tapping the right button.
- Asking for too much information
Filling out forms on a mobile phone can take a lot of time, especially when you try to avoid tapping the wrong spot. Don’t expect your visitor to fill out endless fields. Make it easy with checkboxes and buttons so that they don’t have to type in a lot of text. The more text they need to type, the better the chance they will need to start over.
- Going live without testing
You already know the website backwards and forwards so you are not a good judge of what is missing. Test your site with a handful of people by sitting with them and getting their feedback during navigation. It takes such a short time but can eliminate a lot of hassles down the road.
Avoiding these 10 common mistakes will help you to create a mobile site that meets both your needs and the needs of your customers. Can you think of any other common mobile website design mistakes?
