More than three years after the release of the first iPad, tablet devices maintain a foothold in the American electronic industry. In fact, according to recent study conducted by Pew Research, 34 percent of Americans own tablets. Given this prevalence of tablet ownership, website masters must craft online content in a mobile-friendly manner.
Incorporate Sticky Navigation
Defined as a menu that remains on the screen as users scroll down, “sticky navigation” offers the potential for significant time savings, especially for mobile internet surfing. A study from Smashing Magazine indicates that sticky menus make websites 22 percent faster to navigate. However, when implemented incorrectly, sticky navigation can slow down the navigation process, frustrating users and convincing them to ditch your website for greener pastures. Take care while implementing sticky navigation and you’ll be rewarded with improved traffic and, more importantly, impressive visitor retention.
Double Down On Content Readability
Interesting and easy-to-navigate content always serves as an essential means of drawing in and retaining visitors, but it becomes even more vital when users are limited by the smaller screen space of devices, such as tablets by Lenovo. Many of the same concepts — such as breaking content into chunks and utilizing headers and sub-headers — will apply to mobile site design, but failure to abide by these rules could prove far more disastrous among your mobile audience members. In addition to following the standard tenets of online readability, UX Booth recommends abandoning the standard blog format and splitting mobile content up into multiple, shorter pages. Mobile users do not appreciate having to endlessly scroll through long pages — they’d much rather click onto a second or third page instead. Adding multiple pages to content serves as a win-win solution; in addition to improving readability, it provides extra opportunities for infusing advertising onto your site.
Take Advantage Of Social Networking
Mobile users love to share content, and a socially focused strategy can easily become your ticket to great improvements in traffic. A recent study from the University of Trento revealed content that includes images is far more likely to elicit likes and shares on Facebook and Google Plus than solely text-based content. Be sure to incorporate plug-ins for Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus and, depending on the nature of the content, LinkedIn. Users are far more likely to link friends and followers to content if the means to do so can be found right on the page.
Utilize A Mobile Subdomain
In some circumstances, it will be virtually impossible to optimize a website for mobile and still leave it usable for non-mobile users. In such a situation, the ideal alternative will involve setting up a special subdomain exclusively for mobile users. According to Search Engine Watch, the inclusion of subdomain txt files allows for better results in terms of Google indexing, again eliciting improvements in traffic Additionally, by tailoring content specifically to both mobile and standard internet users, the site offers both a better experience, thus leading to better visitor retention.
