A tool to drive your online success

Do you operate an online business?  Are you trying to build an internet presence?  If so, there is one tool you must have in order to succeed.

We use the internet a lot and are increasingly accessing it on the go.  According to the ONS, 73 per cent of adults in Great Britain accessed the internet every day last year; going online using a mobile phone also more than doubled.  How are these figures relevant to you?  They are showing you the need to create mobile version of your website.

It might sound a lot of work, but it is vital that you can reach users on their smartphones since 7 out of 10 people in the UK carry a smartphone.  Although users have traditionally been careful not to exceed their data allowance, the emergence of low cost mobile broadband packages has changed that.  For example, you can order a free SIM card from mobile broadband provider Mobi-Data.co.uk, which will give you 100MB of complementary data with no obligation.  They offer cheap deals, and run offers like doubling up your data allowance if you sign up for 3 months.  The impact of low cost mobile broadband is that going online using your phone will become more prevalent.

That said, you need to create a mobile website to ensure your audience enjoys a seamless experience when visiting your site.  Your mobile website should contain the following elements:

• Simplicity.  Your mobile website should be a scaled down version of your regular website, because mobile screens are much smaller and it would be difficult to read too much information.  Many good mobile sites contain only the bare essentials.
• User-friendliness.  That means it should be easy to understand and navigate on a small screen.  Menu options should be precise and you should consider using larger fonts to improve readability.
• Easy layout.  As links and menu options need to be selected with a finger, they should be well spaced out to prevent them from being triggered by mistake.  You should only include links that lead to important information.
• Quick loading.  The pages on your website should load quickly to allow your audience to find the information they want in the least amount of time.  This requires hard decisions to include only information and images that are important to the user experience.  You should also cutting down image dimensions.
• Visually appealing.  A mobile website that looks good leaves a positive experience for your site visitor.  It gives them the impression that you are organised so they are more likely to come back to it.  However, bear in mind that the more images and pictures you include, and the bigger their file size, the longer your site loading time will become.
• Reduced advertising.  Too much advertising on a small screen is likely to annoy users and cause them to leave your site.

Regular websites don’t always work properly on mobile screens.  Invest the time to create a mobile version, and you will reduce the risk of your visitor leaving your site.