Mobile Apps: Secret of Success
Modern world is mobile. Having a user-friendly and attractive mobile application is a must for every business. But how to make sure the app brings the results that the business expects? Let us look at some of the principles that you should follow when creating a mobile or adaptive version of the site.
- Simplified menu
Mobile users are impatient. In most cases, they search the Internet on the go. They don't have time to dig into your site, click on millions of tabs to get to the right page. The limit for a mobile resource is three-level navigation. Although there are two steps to go to the nested section of the menu for many it turns out to be unbearably much.
Another useful tip is to use as few menu items as possible. Don't clutter your users' phone screens with unnecessary navigation buttons. The endless menu tires visitors and causes confusion. While you scroll to the end of the list, you will forget what was at the beginning. If there are too many navigation buttons in the web version of your site, create a mobile version with a compact two- /three-level menu.
- Don't make people type
Thick fingers, a tiny keyboard and the annoyance of having to drive in so much. This situation will throw anyone off balance. Unfortunately, few of the mobile visitors bother to turn the screen sideways and print in landscape mode. According to statistics, 90% of users continue to hold the phone vertically while typing. So there is no way to do without hints and autocomplete. Wherever possible, use the drop-down menu.
- Reduce the percentage of manual text input
This will help you:
1) Memorizing the user's name and password.
2) Autofill (offer ready-made options as you type letters).
3) Linking the geolocation service to automatically determine the user's location.
4) Exclusion of all form fields that can be dispensed with.
5) Don't be too sophisticated with icons
- Pictograms can have a decisive influence on the fate of a mobile site or application. On the one hand, they have a lot of advantages:
— scale without loss of quality;
— easily added and customized;
— 100% adaptive;
— fully meet the requirements of cross-browser compatibility;
— equally convenient for touch control and mouse control.
On the other hand, icons can negatively affect the functionality of the site if visitors do not understand their meaning. Try to use generally recognized pictograms. Such as the "hamburger" menu button, the start-play arrow, the closing cross. Don't confuse users by inventing new, overly creative icons.
Also be careful when using hearts and stars. Their meaning can be interpreted in different ways. If the meaning of the icon is unclear from the context, if there is a risk of double reading, it is better to refuse to use it at all.
- Be precise and concise
Copywriting is crucial for any website. The perception of the brand, the level of trust in it of the target audience depends on the texts. Only with the help of words can you address the visitors of the site, offer them something, prompt them. But there are slightly different requirements for mobile texts than for desktop texts. Perhaps the most important of them is the utmost accuracy. To make it easy for visitors to the mobile version of the site to navigate on it, avoid unclear vague formulations. When signing menu items, do not be wise: use a simple, public language. A person should have a clear idea of where he will get to by clicking on one or another navigation button.
Do not neglect the convenience of users in favor of the desire to be stylish, fashionable and unlike others. Even world-famous brands, such as H&M, risk losing a significant part of the audience due to unreasonably complex, pretentious names of menu items.
- Do not forget about the possibility of filtering
If you have a large online store with a large number of products offered, consider using filters in the mobile version of the site. The function of choosing a product by price, brand, size, color, novelty can greatly facilitate the life of users.
Also try to avoid numbering the pages of the "output" of products. In search of the ideal option, users are ready to view the entire range. But, paradoxically, the thought of having to scroll through dozens of pages can scare them away. It's better that visitors don't know what they have to go through. Use infinite scrolling with the "Show more" button.
- Optimize your website for mobile search
According to Google, 9 out of 10 smartphone users come to the site from mobile search. And about half of them make purchases! These statistics alone are enough to assess the importance of the site's presence at the top of Yandex and Google mobile search results. Optimizing the site for search on smartphones and tablets, it is necessary to take into account the following aspects:
— Search queries from mobile devices, as a rule, are local in nature. In other words, people are looking for products of interest to them in nearby offline points of sale. And the owners of "physical" stores should take care of including local bindings in the content of the site.
— Mobile search users are prone to performing rapid actions. Your task is to make snippets (short descriptions of the site pages in the search results) the most important and encouraging information to make a purchase.
— Identify all popular queries with spelling errors that people can use to search for your products and services, and ensure that your site is given out for them.
— Use a separate list of keywords to promote in mobile search.
- Think like a buyer
Try to look at your site through the eyes of mobile users. Think through all the possible ways they get to your site. Identify all possible goals and objectives that they set for themselves. And act! Provide them with the information they are looking for. Make the interaction with the site as simple and intuitive as possible.
Follow the above recommendations for optimizing navigation — and you will improve the mobile design of the site. A pleasant bonus will be an increase in the attendance of the mobile resource and an increase in the number of registrations and purchases.
