Designing an effective mobile website is crucial if you company is going to succeed online. Mobile internet traffic is now more popular than laptop or desktop traffic, and this means that the majority of your website users are likely to be mobile users. So how can you ensure that your mobile website has a strong impact? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design professionals. From Wigan to Southport, we work with companies across Manchester and the surrounding region to deliver high quality web design solutions that really get results. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything you should know about functional elements in mobile web design.
What are the most important functional design considerations for mobile websites?
Users on your mobile website are likely to have different behaviour patterns to those browsing on a desktop or laptop, and are in general, looking for something in as little time as possible. This could be the answer to a question, the opening times for your store, or a particular product. So it really pays to make the user experience quicker and easier by adding functional tools and elements. So, which functional tools should be included on your mobile landing page? Well, there are several, including:
- Clickable contact details
- A navigation bar
- A search bar
- Call to action button
Clickable contact details
As we have established, website users on your mobile website are likely to be in a hurry, or multi-tasking. And this means that if you create a website with specific elements to make things easier, you are likely to improve the user experience, and this can result in more sales or sign ups. This is particularly true for contact details. You should consider:
- Making the phone icon clickable so that it opens in the phone app on the users device, ready for them to press call.
- Making the email icon clickable so that it opens a new message with the address already filled in
- Making the location details set to an interactive map so that users can plan their journey and see where you are in the world.
A navigation bar
Mobile website users need a navigation bar. But the chances are that this wont fit on your screen. So consider a slide out menu or a hamburger menu to save space and ensure that all your page links are clickable. This can help users get to the right page, in as little time as possible, as long as your pages are categorized and organised effectively.
A search bar
A search bar allow users to directly type in the information they need, or the product or service they are looking for. This is a good option for websites with a lot of content, that could be difficult for users to wade through. Especially if the content is detailed or technical. Your search bar should be positioned above the fold, so your website users can see it straight away, and search immediately if they want to.
For more information or for professional web design support, contact the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.