My guess is you own a mobile phone, right?

I’d also guess that you regularly browse the web on your phone whilst either commuting (to your office, study or kitchen table) or whilst unwinding on the sofa at night . Wherever you are you have the world at your fingertips. In fact, it's estimated that there are over 70,000 Google searches every second, and that 63% of those searches are on mobile…that’s no small number.

We demand an exceptional experience when we engage with any mobile website we visit. We typically exit sites when faced with pages that take a few seconds too long to load and we hate sites that don’t seamlessly function.

A positive or negative experience affects our emotional connection with a website, and therefore the brand we are interacting with. Ultimately, if we have a good experience with a website, we’re highly likely to revisit it again and again. 

Simplicity is key

So, what makes for a good website experience, or a good user experience ? The number one thing to remember is simplicity. Simplicity for the user means less friction. Less friction means a smoother journey. A smoother journey means going from A to B to C and beyond quicker and easier. This is particularly true when it comes to mobile. Owing to less screen space, mobile users champion simplicity and hate clutter. Given that 63% of us tend to favour using a mobile over desk/laptop or tablet, we need to ensure we are designing with a ‘mobile first’ approach.

That’s not to say that we forget about the desk/laptop or tablet experience. Owing to the larger physical area these experiences should be 100% consistent with that of mobile, but instead offer more of an immersive, interactive experience.

So, with simplicity and the user in mind, what else can we do to ensure an impeccable user experience on mobile (UX)?

Here’s where to start.

Consistent branding

When adhering to best mobile design practice, it’s essential that your branding (ie. your logo, font, colour palette, imagery) is consistent with all the other brand touchpoints your customers interact with.

This builds trust, empathy and credibility with your audience.

Keep copy concise and legible

Making sure that all copy on your website is easy to read on mobile is key. Users shouldn’t have to zoom in or scroll left and right to read something.

Likewise, if a message can be concisely communicated in 10 words opposed to 30, then go with the 10 word option - mobile users are often on the move and time poor, so let’s make it easy for them.

Bold, clear call to actions (CTA’s)

Let’s make it as quick and easy for the user to perform an action on your website as possible. If we want them to buy a product, let’s make the ‘buy now’ button legible, bold and enticing on the page and next to the features and benefits of the product.

If we want the user to speak with a member of your specialist team, then let’s have a ‘Speak to a specialist now’ button next to an image of the specialist team member.

Simple, optimised navigation

We don’t have much space on mobile for complex menu systems, so mobile websites utilise a burger menu to make things more concise and boost simplicity for users. In addition, having a ‘search’ icon allows users to find the exact thing they are looking for quicker; that being said, if you're going to include one, make sure it works!

Finally, having your brand logo within the navigation is a must, this ties back to our point around consistent branding, always reminding your customer who they are dealing with!

Page load speed - keep it rapid

As mentioned earlier, no one likes waiting around for a website page to load. This will increase page bounce rate and simply annoy the user. By ensuring all images and content are optimised for your website you will ensure each page will load as fast as possible, keeping your users engaged for longer!

Keep any forms simple

If your business requires you to capture customer data (ie. name, email, phone number) then keep the number of fields to the bare minimum, again to ensure speed and simplicity for the user.

Finally, no pop-ups

No one likes the intrusive nature of a pop up at the best of times, and on mobile they are an even bigger big no no. They simply don’t work how they were intended on mobile - users are left annoyed trying to scroll left and right, up and down to find the small X in the corner of the pop up to close it down.

If the offer or message is that compelling that the user needs to know about it then include it on the page itself and create an impactful design to make it pop on the screen.

And Finally 

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