Creating elaborate website designs full of flashy content and media used to be key to grasping the attention of consumers, but now mobile marketers are discovering that those websites full of all that content are actually hurting business.  According to Mobile Marketer 87% of consumers use their smartphones or tablets to shop online, which means it is vital for companies to ensure that their websites work well with these mobile devices.  Most of the time, elaborate designs and tons of content slows down the rendering and loading time of the website on smaller devices.  Studies have shown that if websites take more than one second to load, consumers will most often move on to different websites with a quicker response time. Websites need to be designed for smaller screens in order to avoid loading delays as well as confusion once the site pulls up.  When creating websites, companies need to make sure the sites are compatible with mobile devices giving consumers a pleasant mobile experience rather than causing frustration with slow loading time.

Suggestions for creating successful mobile-friendly websites

Companies should spend a lot of time accessing and manipulating their websites from their own mobile devices to make sure they always work well and load quickly. Staying on top of mobile website updates will only show consumers that they are trustworthy sites that keep up with the advancement of technology, and believe it or not, that is important to consumers.  Most importantly, companies should be accessing their websites in places where high-speed Wi-Fi is not available so they can ensure the sites work well with 3G and 4G technologies.  Consumers are always looking for convenience, and if they become frustrated waiting for websites to load when they are not connected to Wi-Fi, they will move on to the next company.  That being said, companies should consider creating mobile friendly websites along side their rich content websites.  Sometimes toning down their actual websites can also damage business by not being flashy enough for consumers, so instead of getting rid of the eye-catching content, companies should have sites customized for desktops, and sites customized for mobile devices.  With the percentage of consumers who use mobile devices to shop, however, companies should focus on mobile sites first in order to cater to more consumers.  The content on websites is important, so determining which information to include on mobile sites can be difficult since less is more when it comes to mobile sites.  Designing a layout that is organized so it is easy for consumers to understand is key to a successful mobile site.  The point of mobile websites is to create engagement with consumers, so companies should make sure their sites are easy for consumers to interact with.  Content rich sites with flashy designs are fun to look at, however, it companies only focus on aesthetics consumers will find other sites that are more convenient and easy to use.

Source: mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/columns/18473.html