Mobile Website Optimization Tips

Published on 9 Apr 2013 at 10:20 pm.
Filed under Informative,Marketing,Mobile,Web Design.

Need help optimizing your mobile website? We have a few tips on how to design a mobile website that will help you to increase your ROI.

Mobile Website Optimization Tip #1: Tappable Buttons

It has long been known that buttons make an effective call to action. On a mobile device must make a button that is large enough that it is easy to touch. There is no hard and fast rule for a size to use, but many of the major players in mobile have given their recommendations. Apple’s iOS Human Interface Guidelines suggest a minimum size of 44px for all tappable UI elements. Microsoft on the other hand recommends 9mm as the ideal touch target size for Microsoft touch platforms. This is roughly equal to Android’s recommendation of 48 device pixels. Create buttons at different sizes to see what works best for your page. Remember to give it room to breath.

Mobile Website Optimization Tip #2: Calling Links

Most modern smartphones are smart enough to recognize a phone number on a webpage. Simply touch (or long-press) a phone number and it will bring up the phone with the number filled in. But you can do better than that. Reports show that 80 percent of SMB mobile sites offer click to call. It has become a mobile best practice and is highly recommended.

Need to make a link bring up the phone on a mobile website? <a href="tel:5551234567">Call Us Today!</a>First you will need to think up a simple call to action that encourages them to call you. You can also add an easy to press button to improve the likelihood that they will call. Next you need to generate an HTML link using the tel: scheme. The tel: scheme is simply “tel:” followed by a phone number. For example:

<a href="tel:5859789785">Call The BrandBuilder Company</a>

Mobile Website Optimization Tip #3: “Click to Call”

A mobile user is in a completely different mind-set from someone on a desktop. They have different needs and something frowned upon in one situation can become a recommended strategy.

“Click here” is the most infamous call to action present on the web. It is highly discouraged due to problems with usability, accessibility, and poor SEO. With a little thought you can come up with a better call to action that has avoids those pitfalls.

It’s wrong to call “click to call” the mobile substitute to “click here”. You’re not trying to take someone to a webpage. You’re encouraging them to make a phone call. It doesn’t have an effect on SEO. With a smaller screen it is easier to differentiate between links. Accessibility wise it may still be an issue, but I don’t think that is a solved problem so I would not let that hold you back from using an effective call to action.

This post was originally published as Mobile Website Optimization Tips for The BrandBuilder Company.

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