“Some people try to make everything complicated, be the person who tries to make everything simple.”
~Davy Waters
I read a fascinating article that struck home today about Black Friday. This year (2011) black Friday sales were up 16% over last year. That’s a great sign on many levels. But even more interesting is this: MANY stores with long lines LOST sales due to mobile phones. That’s right. People waiting in lines for that must have Xbox game were getting annoyed, getting fidgity, getting mobile. The longer some folks waited, the quicker they realized that they could pull out their trusty smart phone, find a better price on the desired product and BUY it right then and there. No lines. No nonsense. Better pricing.
Smart phones are changing the game, so it’s time to make certain that your business has a web site that represents in a mobile phone. Here are five tips to consider when developing your mobile web site.
- Keep It Simple.
If you are in retail, be certain to highlight your most important / popular products first. Don’t make your consumer jump through mobile hoops, remember, they are turning to your mobile version because they are frustrated with a brick and mortar experience.
- Keep The Graphics Down To A Minimum.
If you think people have short attention spans on your business web site, imagine how short the mobile phone viewer attention span is. You have SECONDS to lead your prospect to a sale, don’t clutter your mobile web site up with graphics.
- Kill The Flash.
If you must have motion on your mobile web site, keep Flash out of the equation. Several phones have no idea what to do with it. Consider backing off on the flashy stuff, or utilize CSS / HTML 5.
- 3 Clicks To A Sale.
The best rule of e-commerce is 3 clicks to a sale. The more clicks you require from a checkout process perspective, the higher the odds of shopping cart abandonment rates sky rocketing on your mobile web site. Again, keep the checkout process stupid simple.
- Load Time IS VERY Important.
Be certain that your mobile web site loads as quickly as possible on mobile phones, there’s nothing worse then waiting for a site to load on your phone when your time is way better spent playing angry birds. Keep the code clean, avoid as many third party URL calls that you can and be certain to test in all major phone platforms.
It’s no secret that smart phones are here to stay and it’s no news flash to tablets are becoming more and more mainstream. The most important thing to consider is HOW your prospects behave on those phones and IPads, and how you can make their life more simple, NOT more complicated.
To discuss your company and it’s online web presence strategy, be sure to give me a call. In Orlando: 407-830-4550, Nationwide: 866-998-6886. Be sure to visit http://www.OnTargetWebSolutions.com for more SEO tips, web design tips and social media tips.
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