Web Design Principles for Mobile-friendly Websites

Now that we are in a generation where people stay on their phones 24/7, we should take advantage of it and start making our websites mobile-friendly in order to generate more conversions. But how will you do it? In this article, I will teach you the web design principles for mobile-friendly websites.

It is said that mobile users like to expect great outcomes for what they are searching for. They are very specific when it comes to the answers that they want, so you need to make sure to give them what they want when they visit your website.

Users expect a website to be concise, immediate, and to their liking when they visit it. May it be making a purchase, getting a quote for their business, or just simply looking for an answer, they want everything to be seamless when it comes to searching on mobile sites.

What is a mobile-friendly website?

Before we dive in further about the web design principles, let us first give the mobile-friendly website a brief description so you will have a greater idea of what it is all about.

According to Tungsten, a mobile-friendly website is one that is designed to work across all kinds of devices, such as mobile phones and tablets. The design being used on a mobile-friendly website will not change or adapt to all kinds of devices.

One more thing about mobile-friendly websites is that they do not use animations. Since mobile phones can only handle a certain amount of graphics and animations, you need to make sure that it does not contain a heavy one.

Web design principles for mobile-friendly websites

Now that we are able to define the term mobile-friendly website, let us now jump to the web design principles you need when you are creating one.

Keep in mind that your mobile site should do more than just replicate the desktop version of the site; it should be able to deliver the information that the visitors are looking for that is optimized for mobile. 

Here are some principles you can put on your website:

1. Optimize the website

People love it when the website they are visiting on their phone is mobile-optimized rather than having a hard time navigating a desktop version of it. Users love the convenience, and if you cannot give it to them, they will find it on another website.

Here are some tips on how you can optimize your website:

• Use vertical scrolling only.
• Avoid distractions and always put your content first.
• Use a single-column site layout.
• Do not mix desktop and mobile-optimized pages.

2. Keep the forms concise and short

When it comes to contact forms, users nowadays dislike the traditional long forms; they would rather answer a short and concise version of them. So, you should keep the forms on your mobile-friendly site short.

Users have a short span of attention and patience, so make good use of the times that they are still focusing on your website and give them what they want in order for you to get what you need. 

Consumers are very skeptical of websites that provide a lot of information about them, so giving them the freedom to not give too much information is a way to earn their trust.

Check out our list of the best website form designs, and you might be able to get inspiration from it that you can put on your website. 

3. Place eye-catching CTAs

Of course, any website will have call-to-action buttons spread all over it, and your mobile-friendly website should have one as well. Since you are on a mobile device, people should easily see where the CTAs are and make sure they will do something once they see them.

The ideal location of the CTA on a mobile site should be above the fold, where visitors can easily spot it. Try using enticing colors and fonts that can easily catch the eye.

Check out our best CTA websites; maybe you can get inspiration from them.

4. Write content that is mobile-friendly

Even if your website looks visually pleasing, you still need to give the visitors what they need when they visit it, which is great content. Make sure that the articles or blogs that you are writing are mobile-optimized.

You should add large and descriptive buttons, increase the font to at least 16 to make it readable to all audiences, and skip the hover or mouse-over animations since this won’t be necessary when using a mobile phone.

5. Optimize the images

You need to know that optimizing your images will help you boost your SEO rankings. Remember that the faster your image loads, the faster the website loads as well. 

You can check out our article about how to make the photos load faster and try to incorporate it into your website as well.

6. Give the visitors what they want

People that do a site search have a specific goal in mind when they search for the things they are thinking about, which is why it is important to give them what they want. Once they visit your website, place the information they are looking for on the homepage.

In order to avoid clogging up the results pages with text and to prevent users from having to click on multiple items before finding the one they want, it’s also important to include an image, price, and a brief description of each item.

To increase accessibility for all users, consider adding elements like alternative text for images, obvious headings, and appropriate semantic markup.

7. Easy way to contact you

Making sure that your visitors have an easy way to contact you is a great web design principle that you can put on your website. A click-to-call feature is a great option that you can put on your website in order for visitors to reach you easily.

You can also put a FAQs section there, so if they have questions, they can easily get an answer. Another good thing to put up is a Google Map of your location, in case people want to see you face-to-face to raise their concerns.

8. Design the website with thumb in mind

The text is difficult to see, and the buttons are too small to click on. These are by far the most frequent complaints consumers have about websites that are not mobile-friendly. So, while creating your websites, be sure that each button is big enough to be clicked on and that they aren’t too close to one another for fear that you’ll click on something by accident.

Links and buttons need to have enough room around them to prevent unintentional clicks, and interactive elements need to react to touch with visual feedback.

Remember, don’t make users pinch the screen to read the content only to have to zoom out again to click on a different link or page. For reading to be simple on smaller screens, legible typefaces, adequate font sizes, and enough backdrop contrast are all necessary.

9. Fast loading time

We have mentioned this a lot in our articles, but we all know that people’s patience is not as thick as it was before. You need to make sure that your website loads fast, or else they will leave it and search on another website instead.

Both WiFi and non-WiFi connections should be supported equally by your site, and ideally, a page should load in under four seconds.

10. Test the website

Testing your website at each stage of development is probably the best strategy to adopt as far as mobile-friendly websites are concerned.

Of course, there are a lot of devices available; it may be impractical to test them all due to cost and time constraints. If it applies to you, use tools, test out emulators or simulators, or do anything else you can to make sure your website is mobile-friendly.

The mobile experience of the website can be improved by gathering information from actual mobile users through usability testing or feedback forms in order to discover any usability problems or potential areas for improvement.

Final Words

You can’t afford to miss out on this trend given the popularity of mobile search and the higher level of buyer intent on mobile devices, so having a mobile-friendly website is a must nowadays.

You can try to incorporate the tips given above to make sure that your website will be mobile-friendly, and you will be able to get higher conversions as you continue to upgrade your website into one that will cater to the needs of your visitors.

FAQs

Why is having a mobile-friendly website important?

Mobile-friendly websites increase your sales and conversions because of the design’s emphasis on accessibility. Users can interact and engage with your brand across devices when you know your website is mobile-friendly without being bothered or inconvenienced.

How do I test if my website is mobile-friendly?

There are different ways to test if your website is mobile-friendly, but in order to make it easier, you can use tools to help you check if your website is mobile-friendly. Try using tools like the Mobile-Friendly Test for easier results.

What are the common mistakes I should avoid while designing my website?

Since you are aiming for a mobile-friendly website, avoid overcrowding the space on your website. You do not want to bombard them with too much unnecessary information while they are on your website. You should also avoid hard-to-click buttons and slow loading times.