Let me guess—management is talking about launching a mobile site.
How’d I know?
Everyone’s jumping into mobile.
But not everyone is doing it right. Here are 6 rules you need to know before going live on mobile.
1) Have A Search Bar Front & Center
Mobile users want to find things quickly. They want to get to where they want to go in as few clicks as possible. Not having a prominent search bar is like saying to your customers, “Yes you’re at the right place, but the front door isn’t open. You’ll have to walk all the way around to the back.”
2) Menus Should Be Short & Sweet
Again, this comes down to usability. Users don’t want to scroll through millions of options. Try to present menus with as few items as possible to decrease clutter.
3) Break Longer Forms Into Shorter Chunks
Long check out pages and credit card forms can sometimes discourage mobile users. Just like when they’re searching, these users care about efficiency and will abandon a purchase if a form looks too daunting.
4) Easy On The Ads
Don’t let your banner promotions distract from the page’s call to action. You only have so much space on a mobile device, and although ads are important, you want users to be able to find and use the navigation.
5) Let Users Purchase As A Guest
This is one of those it’s-not-you-it’s-me type situations. Mobile customers may want to buy from you, but they may not be ready to make a long-term commitment. Sometimes you just have to give them a little space to figure things out.
6) Provide A Visual Calendar For Date Selection
People don’t always remember exact dates, and a calendar is a great visual way to help them out. They won’t have to leave your site to make sure next weekend is the right weekend.
Is your company up and running on mobile yet? What were the most critical elements you considered?