Google confirmed last year that more searches take place on mobile devices than computers and this trend towards mobile has continued. With this increasing move towards the convenience of mobile how can you make sure that your ecommerce website is optimised for mobile use?
These 5 tips will help you avoid mistakes when it comes to mobile commerce and ensure that you can continue to reach your customers wherever they are.
1. Complex Websites
Always remember that your customer’s experience of your website will differ from desktop to mobile. On a desktop your customer may be willing to browse multiple pages, read a company history, staff profiles or download pdfs. When they are looking at your website on a mobile, however, they are more likely to be looking for simple and basic information.
Think like a mobile customer and ask what key information will they be looking for? Some will be looking for directions, store locations, email sign up or a one click to call so that they can speak to someone easily and find an answer to their queries. When it comes to mobile commerce you should simplify product pages so that it is easy to browse and the amount of clicks needed for a customer to buy are minimised.
The Marks and Spencer mobile site is a great example of this. The design is clean and simple and their products are in easy to understand and clickable categories which make it easy to browse on the go on a mobile.
2. Inconsistency
Your mobile site needs to be a streamlined version of your main website but it should still be recognisable as your brand. Logos and colours should be kept the same as your main site to reinforce your customer’s brand experience. When a customer visits your website on a desktop or their mobile they shouldn’t be in any doubt that it is yours.
3. “Fat Finger Syndrome”
A real frustration for mobile commerce website users is a small line of text that you have to click on. If your text is crammed together, you have to zoom in or find out too late that you have clicked on the wrong link.
Text should be clear and the right size making it easy to read even on smaller screens and easy to select or click on. Where possible avoid a large text requirement and instead use drop downs or simple to click options.
The Booking.com website is an excellent example of making a website easy to navigate on a mobile. To book a holiday or break requires a certain amount of information from a customer but the Booking.com mobile site is simple and easy to use.
The boxes and options are big enough to click on without the frustration of clicking on the wrong one and with the options they provide for their most popular locations they have made it possible to view and choose a hotel in as few as 2 clicks.
4. Incorrect and Broken Redirects
Make sure your user redirects are all working correctly. If you have a mobile-optimised version of your site then you want your customers to be directed to it quickly. The easier you make the experience on your mobile site the more likely your customers are to stay on it and use it to purchase or get in touch.
5. Avoid Flash
For the majority of your mobile website viewers, their phones won’t view Flash as neither iOS or newer androids support it. This is particularly the case as Google have recently announced that they are phasing out Flash on Google Chrome except for a select 10 chosen sites. If you are still using Flash on your mobile (and desktop) site then you are potentially limiting your audience.