If you’re not optimizing for mobile, you’re missing out

Mobile optimization is a huge part of digital strategy.

You’ve certainly heard about this idea before, probably with some eye-catching statistics to back it up. When it comes to shopping, Google reports that consumers spend more than 15 hours per week on their smartphone doing research on goods and services they’d like to buy. More than 90 percent of people who do such research will go on to make a purchase, and generally they’ll want to move fast, as in buying the thing within an hour.

So that’s what you stand to gain by optimizing your website for mobile. Here’s how to actually do it.

The whole process of optimization is intended to make sure that users get the best possible experience from your site. It’s easy to imagine an unoptimized website because you’ve probably experienced one. Just imagine a regular webpage built for a full computer screen that’s been crammed into your mobile — it’s an awkward presentation that leaves browsers pinching and pulling to crawl over nearly unintelligible text.

That brings us to the first big principle of mobile optimization: Keep it simple. The smartphone is designed for scroll navigation that leaves no room for cluttered pages. You don’t want to throw unnecessary items in the mix that could trip up a scrolling finger and you definitely don’t want pop-ups that are nearly impossible to close on a tiny screen.

Sizing is really key for every part of the mobile experience. Big elements placed for a desktop or tablet just aren’t going to translate to the display of most smartphones. On the other side of the coin, designs that are too small or too close together are unwieldy and frustrating to navigate, such as in the pop-up example.

By optimizing for mobile devices, you’re showing respect for your audience by meeting them where they are. That, in turn, will likely lead to higher conversions.