Gone are the days when virtually everyone experienced the internet by sitting at a desk in front of a monitor. Today an ever-growing percentage of those online are using iPhones and other smartphones that allow them to visit your blog from virtually any location. Ensuring that your readers can see and understand your blog when using mobile devices to access it takes deliberate planning and occasional design adjustments. In particular, keep these ten points in mind to ensure that you do not accidentally prevent mobile phone users from enjoying your content.
- Simplify
Most modern computers can handle large files easily, but mobile devices have varying technological capabilities and may not load as fast. Therefore, especially if your blog is cluttered with graphics and similar content, it may be intolerably slow on most mobile devices. Try simplifying your site a little to enhance the loading speed.
- Shrink Pictures
Of course, you probably will need to include some pictures, but they do not have to take five minutes to load. Large picture files are slower to load than smaller ones, especially on mobile devices. Therefore, check to see if you can reduce the size of your picture files; you may be surprised how much can do so without a noticeable drop in quality.
- Avoid Flash
animations may look impressive on an ordinary computer, but may not show up at all on some mobile devices. Therefore, you may want to limit how much you rely on them in your blog, especially for important content.
- Reinforce Video
Rare is the blog these days that does not contain video. However, video can be unreliable and occasionally inaccessible on mobile devices. If the video’s content is essential, make sure that it is accompanied by text that also conveys your message.
- Hold the Centre
Since mobile devices do not have a very wide screen, blogs that rely on horizontal visuals will force the reader to scroll awkwardly back and forth. Your readers will soon tire of doing that, so centre your blog’s content to make it easier to view.
- Use a Straightforward Layout
One rule that applies across all mediums, large or small, is to that you should keep your blog’s design as simple and intuitive as possible. Simple navigation is important for those who read your blog on an ordinary computer, but it is even more important in the world of mobile browsers. Boosting the efficiency of your site will usually, in turn, filter down and increase other metrics, all key to ranking higher.
- Clean Coding
Most modern computers capable of compensating for less than clear HTML by filling in the blanks. However, mobile devices may not always be able to do so, meaning that flaws in your HTML not obvious on a laptop or desktop computer may suddenly become apparent on a mobile device. Make sure that you fully test your blog on mobile browsers regularly and correct any HTML errors it contains.
- Limit Splashy Effects
Along with large pictures and Flash animations, many eye-catching backdrops and effects that work on large screens simply do not translate very well to smaller ones. That does not mean you cannot use special effects on your blog, but it does mean that you should use them sparingly and not make them essential to understanding your blog.
- Do Not Inflate Text Sizes
The size of the fonts that make up your blog posts and titles can have a major impact on how easily people can read your blog on mobile devices. Large letters can mean slow scrolling on small screens, and long headlines can appear unappealingly cluttered. Although most mobile devices include the ability to zoom in and out, this may not always be sufficient to correct inflated font sizes.
- Acknowledge the Audience
This last suggestion might seem obvious, but the best way to tailor your blog to meet the needs of your mobile audience is to keep them in mind every time you post. No writer can effectively reach their audience without keeping them always in mind, and mobile users are no exception. Just as you should regularly check your site’s appearance and ease of use for ordinary computer owners, you should do the same thing for mobile device owners.