A pretty asian business woman on cell phone with co-workers in backgroundThe expectations of mobile users on the Internet are escalating. Years ago, when most websites were 100% oriented to desktop users, a poor user experience for mobile traffic was the norm. Since most websites were like this, the mobile user accepted this as a fact of life.
Today, you can’t afford not to accommodate the mobile user because too many websites are accommodating them. Given the greater numbers of mobile friendly sites, consumers have understandably become more choosy. Why struggle with Acme Widgets’ non-responsive site when Ace Gadgets’ mobile friendly site is such a breeze to find what you want?
However, there is more to a mobile friendly website than its ability to reconfigure to different mobile screen sizes. The astute web designer is aware of this while most in-house designers make a quick technical fix that merely resizes their desktop sites to match screen size. This common practice is an opportunity for the more astute designers and for anyone using the services of a good website design consulting firm. Why? Because websites that go beyond the resizing fix and create a great mobile experience will make choosy mobile consumers choose them over their competition.
Here are just two of the finer design points used by web design consultants:

  • Avoiding complicated and subtle color combinations – While complex and subtle color combinations are greatly appreciated by the desktop user, they are difficult to see in the varied lighting conditions, limited color palettes, and small screen sizes of the mobile user. This degrades the site’s usability. Simpler graphics with contrasting solid colors are the better choice, especially for navigation elements.
  • Making inputs easy for mobile users – User input techniques common to desktop sites are difficult on the mobile device. For example, dragging and dropping objects on a small screen using one’s finger is difficult. Large clickable buttons are preferred to small radio button inputs which are difficult to see and use. Text input fields and link sizes must be proportionately larger than those found on desktop sites.

The two above design points clearly show why merely resizing a desktop site does not work. Yet most websites, including your competitors, are taking this route. While adding a simple resizing plug-in is quick and convenient, it will not make mobile users happy. Unhappy website users do not become customers. If you want to differentiate your website by providing a great mobile user experience, contact us today and lets talk about it.