Web Design: Optimize for mobile with a focus on speed, utility and legibility on smaller screens

Ahhh you’ve heard it all before I’m sure: You’ve got to optimize your web site for mobile devices!

Most people hear the word “mobile” and they think “iPhone” or “iPad” or “tablet” but they overlook that in the mobile arena, there are many other handheld devices including, but not limited to:

• Fujitsu T-01C REGZA Phone T-01C
• HTC Desire
• HTC ADR6300 Incredible
• HTC APA7373KT EVO Shift 4G
• HTC G2 HTC Sappire
• LG VM670 Optimus V
• Motorola DROID PRO
• Motorola DroidX
• Samsung SC-02B GALAXY S
• SonyEricsson LT15i Xperia Arc
• Verizon Droid2

There are possibly many more devices not listed above in the mobile market but clearly as the list shows above, there is much more variety out there beyond the Apple products.

Want to learn what devices are being used to access your web site? Check your analytics, of course! Surely what you will find is that over any period of time, the mobile device traffic your site is getting is surely increasing.

Here are some recent stats for those who enjoy such metrics:

• Among mobile devices, phones still account for the vast majority (81%) of mobile Web traffic, although tablets are showing some gains.
• Mobile traffic from iPads increased to 16% of all Web traffic in the fourth quarter last year versus 10% for the same period in 2010.
• The majority of mobile Web traffic (46%) is coming from Android users (up 27% over 2010), while iPhone mobile Web traffic is down 17% to 31% of total mobile traffic.

Despite the numbers and all the statistics hoopla, however, MediaPost is reporting that many marketers are still behind the curve when it to optimizing their Web sites for mobile devices. “Marketers, particularly retailers, need to evaluate their mobile Web conversion rates versus those of traditional Internet browsing, “  says John Fairley, director of digital services for Walker Sands. “While consumers may be willing to fill out several different information fields on a traditional desktop or laptop, they are less likely to do so on the smaller screen of a phone.”

I was just sharing all this mobile-centric stuff to a business executive the other day who dismissed their site’s needs for mobile-friendly. “We can access our site just fine on our smartphones. We don’t need to spend resources on mobile-optimization.” The thing is … it’s not about mere access to your site. It’s about usability of your site within a mobile environment. On mobile, people are all about speed, period. There’s no time or patience for endless scrolling or long waits for image downloads. The focus is about ease-of-use, legibility and speed.

Summary: Folks, this mobile-friendly business is NOT going to go away any time soon. Time and again, I am told by clients and peers alike that their smartphones and handhelds are their “new computers” so clearly the trend for browsing via mobile is increasing at an alarmingly rapid rate. Check your stats under “Mobile devices” and you’ll see that the numbers don’t lie … and neither do I …

Mayra Ruiz Mcpherson

Brand Journalist and Digital Strategist Mayra Ruiz-McPherson is founder of Ruiz McPherson Communications (RMC), a marketing ingenuity practice based in Herndon, Virginia. Mayra — who also founded and launched the online career community SocialMediaJobsDC.com — often presents various digital and social media-focused topics tailored to business owners and senior-level marketing managers. She also instructs a number of courses, workshops and training sessions as well as provides private, on-site training on social media tools and strategies.

In between professional engagements, Mayra guest blogs and contributes content regularly to a number of publications both in and outside the Washington DC metro area. Mayra is also the editor of The Better Social Business Blog, "Pet Tech" columnist for the Virginia Maryland Dog Magazine, contributes an “e-Trends” column to the Loudoun Business Journal and is founder of the Loudoun Fairfax Local Bloggers Meetup group which mentors and helps local bloggers network, learn and exchange ideas.