Business owners involved with e-commerce operations can’t go one month without hearing the words “mobile optimization.” These may seem like the usual buzzwords often found in any technological industry, but this one isn’t just jargon with little meaning.
Mobile optimization refers to the technical process of ensuring your website’s features and content can be accessed through mobile devices. This means that someone can use your site easily through a tablet or more often a smartphone.
Learn why mobile optimization is essential to the success of ecommerce business and some key parts of the process.
Why Is Mobile Optimization Crucial?
Mobile optimization is crucial to the development of ecommerce businesses because of the growing dependence on mobile devices. If you keep hearing about e-commerce businesses suddenly splurging on mobile optimization, you may be curious about what they’re spending their money on.
Here are some of the most important reasons making sure your website translates properly to mobile formats is a great investment.
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Access the Population
Millions of people across the United States now have smartphones. People used to visit their favorite e-commerce sites and business pages over their laptops or desktop computers, the trend is now to do all that on smartphones.
According to the Pew Research Institute, approximately 97 percent of all Americans now have a cellphone. Not all cell phones can access the internet, but smartphones definitely can and a whopping 85 percent of Americans are proud smartphone owners. If you want your ecommerce business to be accessible to all these people, mobile optimization is a must.
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Internet Will be Mobile
Although many people still routinely access the internet over more cumbersome devices like desktop terminals and laptops, more and more are going to do so over their mobile devices. Some experts estimate that as soon as 2025, over 72 percent of all internet access will be done solely over smartphones. Without the benefit of mobile optimization, your ecommerce website will suffer from the loss of customers and visitors.
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Ease of Use
Mobile internet is so much easier to use than regular internet because of all the associated benefits. Smartphones are lightweight and can be accessed at a drop of a hat. Compare that to trying to check on your online shopping quickly on a desktop and you can appreciate why more people use mobile devices for their internet searches.
Mobile optimization helps ensure that your e-commerce venture, through platforms or your own website, can be easily accessed by potential customers.
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Simplified Formats
The transition from website format to mobile site can help remove extraneous features and other properties. This means that your site can become much simpler to use and easier to navigate when you optimize it for mobile.
Simplifying its format does not mean that a website cannot be appealing or fully functional. It just means that it can load much faster and make it much simpler for online users to get used to the site.
How Can You Optimize for Mobile?
If you’re now convinced of the importance of optimizing for mobile to an ecommerce business, you could be at a loss at how this process takes place.
What do web designers do to ensure that your desktop site transitions efficiently to a mobile format? When you plan on changing your website to a more mobile-friendly version, below are some parts of the process you may want to keep in mind.
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Use Simpler Font
Obviously, smartphones and mobile devices like tablets don’t have the same screen size of a laptop or a desktop. This can make it very hard for users to read text easily unless you choose fonts that can be read even in a reduced screen.
Not all fonts look quite as appealing nor as legible on a small screen and you must be very careful when choosing them. Fonts that are sans serif or lack the small embellishments at the tips are perfect for mobile sites.
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Ensure Faster Loading
Modern internet users can quickly grow tired of waiting for a website to load. If your e-commerce site isn’t streamlined for mobile devices, it can take even longer for a smartphone to properly load it all up. This will turn away potential customers. Make sure your website’s loaded data is reduced to accommodate for the capabilities of smartphones.
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Simplify Interface
Too often e-commerce websites choke their home pages and other pages with too many ads, videos, pictures and other interactive features. The transition from a desktop site to a mobile website can help reduce all this clutter.
Remove all features that you don’t think are strictly necessary for customers to properly use the site. Make sure they can quickly go about their business and your users will enjoy a speedier, simpler experience.
Mobile optimization is the key to the future success of many businesses. Understanding its importance and its implications can help ecommerce business owners make the right choices when updating their websites.