Design features for effective mobile websites

Designing a website that looks and functions most effectively on a mobile device is crucial for any businesses success online. This is particularly relevant now, when the web receives more traffic from mobile devices than laptops or desktop PCs. But what are the most important features to include, and direct attention to on a mobile device? And how can this be achieved on such a small screen? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design experts, and we provide high quality, effective, web design solutions for a range of local companies and businesses across Manchester, and the surrounding area. This includes Blackburn and Stockport. As a result, we have produced this guide to the important design features for effective mobile websites.

What are the important considerations for mobile web design?

Before we delve into the design features for an effective, responsive and attractive, mobile website, let’s take a look at some of the important considerations for mobile web design. These include:

  • The screen size- all mobile devices, including phones and tablets will have a different screen size. This means that you will need to use percentages as a base for the size of your elements, rather than true sizing, so that your website can scale up or down, depending on the requirements of the user.
  • Readability- clearly a smaller screen size means that any text is going to be more difficult to read. That’s why it’s so important to choose a clear typography and use smaller sentences.
  • Click-ability- buttons on your mobile website need to be designed so that they are easy to click. Buttons that are too small can be difficult for users to interact with, while buttons that are too large can look out of place on your website.

What are the most important design features for effective mobile websites?

So, what are the most important features to really highlight as part of your mobile web design? Well, there are several, including:

  • Imagery- it’s important to draw your potential customers in with high quality, professional imagery. This can really capture their attention, while also showing off your office, services or products in the best possible light. For mobile web design, these need to be optimised for fast loading times, but also for responsive design, so that they fit to the screen size available. Imagery should be positioned above the fold, before your users scroll, as well as throughout your mobile website.
  • Contact details- For users on a mobile device, they want to find the information they need, as quickly as possible. This includes the contact details for your company. So make sure your company phone number is right at the top of the screen for your customers to get in touch. And when including your address, make sure you add an interactive map, so that users can plan their journey.
  • Call to action- as with any website, the call to action button should be the centre of your design, and positioned well above the fold, to draw attention and secure more click throughs.

For more information or advice, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.