A functional, accessible, and stylish website is often the foundation for many Edmonton businesses. Despite your best efforts, you may find that your conversions for customers using mobile devices are lower than those using desktops. If so, it’s possible that your website is not using responsive website design – i.e., it may not scale down properly when viewed on smaller screens.
Best Practices for Responsive Website Design
Your website was not designed on a mobile device. While your bold navigation aids, easy to navigate menus, and clear calls-to-action may look fantastic on a desktop, it may become cluttered and confusing when squished down to a four-inch screen. Here are some tips to implement responsive website design for your Edmonton business.
1. Re-evaluate Your Images
While your images may look great on a large screen, you should check whether they scale down for mobile users and, if they do, whether the scaled-down version adds to the user experience. If the image occupies too much of the screen and makes finding information difficult, consider substituting for a less intrusive option.
2. Understand Your users & Simplify Navigation
Analyze your stats: are mobile users using the search function? How about your menu links? If not, your navigation may be difficult to operate. Remember: most mobile users are on-the-go and are looking to find information fast. If search is your most used function, emphasize it! If menu buttons are not being used, consider making them easier to find. When it comes to mobile websites, less is more. Simplified designs win over a cluttered mess every time.
3. Cut Out Desktop Optimized Popups and Overlays
Popups and overlays may look great on a desktop, but they can be intrusive and incredibly annoying for mobile users. Additionally, they can obscure vital information that your customers are searching for. If you are using overlays, ensure that facilitate the information finding process.
4. Cap Your Content
While everyone wants to write on at length on how great their business is, no one wants to read a giant block of text. Remember: simplify the experience. Self-edit your content and ensure that the information is concise, easy to find, and to the point. After all, you’re making a website, not writing a book!
5. Clear Call to Action
You can optimize your website perfectly and still miss conversions because your customers didn’t find a way to contact you quickly enough. We can’t stress this enough: include a call-to-action on every page and emphasize it with a button that is easy to see and gets the customer in contact with you.
If you have any questions on how to implement any of these responsive web design features in Edmonton, contact us at WSI today. (See what we did there?)
Lynne Motkoski, Digital Marketing Consultant
Specialty: Digital Marketing
Strategies Education: MA Communications
& Technology, BComm [U Alberta]
Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education,
keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.
Is SEO better than pay-per-click advertising services? Or does PPC deliver better results than SEO? What really matters, in our opinion, is
how well they can work together.
Read More…
When you want to attract more customers but don’t have the time to take on promoting your business, a digital marketing agency can play a
vital role in raising your brand’s awareness.
Read More…
Facebook is an essential sales channel for many SMBs! With Facebook Ads Management, you can create and run eye-catching and engaging ads
that entice the platform’s users to purchase your products or services.
Read More…
Since almost 60% of all searches are done on mobile devices and these devices come in a range of screen sizes, you need responsive web
design to provide users a great mobile experience with your local business.
Read More…
Google is making one of its most significant changes to Google Ads since it first launched the product 22 years ago as the first-ever
self-serve online advertising solution. How will this affect your online advertising?
Read More…
Some of us budget all year to take advantage of the deals that some retailers offer in November. Where did Black Friday come from, and should your small business be participating in these offerings?
Read More…
Working with a local search engine optimization agency that understands SEO’s ever-evolving ways can help keep your audience engaged, drive
new visitors to your site, and boost sales.
Read More…
The Web Marketing Association (WMA) has just wrapped up it’s 26th awards season. WMA is made up of a committee of industry leaders and expert judges dedicated to raising the standards of excellence in web development. The committee receives global nominations in
97 categories across the industry, and since joining the race in 2007, the WSI family has received over 150 WMA awards, including top agency
twice!
Read More…