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How to Improve Website UX on Mobile?

Mobile devices now account for over 60% of the total number of global website visitors. However, many people have become frustrated with the experience of having to pinch, zoom, and squint at websites that were not designed to be viewed on a mobile device. With poor mobile experiences often resulting in loss of conversions, leads, and trust, it is crucial that businesses make an investment in mobile U/X design.

This blog reviews practical guidance and suggestions that will help improve your mobile UX, reduce bounce rates, and create an enjoyable user experience.

Start with a Mobile-First Design Market

The key to great mobile UX is to change your thinking before writing one line of code. Instead of creating a desktop version and then scaling down, think of the smallest screen first and then gradually enhance the design for larger devices.

This process forces you to prioritize what content is needed by the user on any given page and what can be removed to make it easier for users on a smaller device to view the same content on a larger device. Ordering your pages based on users’ needs is both important and will create better page layouts, faster loading speeds, and ultimately a more enjoyable user experience on all device sizes.

Use frameworks like Tailwind CSS or Bootstrap and a responsive grid system to create mobile-first layouts easily. And when establishing breakpoints, use data collected from your own users to determine where they should be (not through) just arbitrary device dimensions).

Optimize Touch Targets and Navigation

Mobile users use their fingers to navigate, not a small and precise mouse pointer. Touch targets (buttons, links, and other interactive items) must be sufficiently large enough to ensure easy tapping. Google’s Material Design specifies that the minimum size for touch targets is 48x48 pixels.

Keep the navigation simple and feel amenable to thumbs. Because most people will hold their phone in one hand, the bottom half of the screen is easier to reach than the top half. Including major navigation elements such as bottom tab bars will enhance their usability dramatically if they are within thumb reach.

Do not use drop-down menus requiring you to hover to use them; hover does not exist on touch interfaces. Instead, utilize hamburger menus, sticky navigation bars, or clearly visible tabbed interfaces, providing ease of use.

Ruthlessly Prioritize Page Speed

Page load speed is an important measure of performance, but it is also a giant user experience concern. Google’s research found that 53% of mobile users will abandon a webpage that takes longer than three seconds to load; adding just one additional second can cause an increase in bounce rates.

To improve mobile load speeds, start by compressing and optimizing the images on the website. Use modern image formats like WebP, lazy load any images below the fold so that they only load when required, and make use of a Content Delivery Network (CDN) in order to serve those assets from places that are closer to your customer.

Secondly, reduce JavaScript and CSS files, eliminate rendering blocking resources, and take advantage of the benefits of browser caching. Tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse will give you a comprehensive list of the different locations where you are seeing rate reducing loss of speed and what you should fix first.

Simplify Forms and Input Fields

When it comes to Mobile UX, completing form fields on a mobile device is one of the most frustrating experiences for users. If the form is long and has many fields, has tiny input fields, and has keyboard issues, this can lead users to abandon the form altogether.

The goal is to have the absolute least number of form fields. Only require users to provide essential information. Use autofill when appropriate, and have the appropriate keyboard type for each input (for instance, using a numeric keyboard for a phone number and an email keyboard for an email address) and have a calendar to select a date to eliminate manual entering of a date.

Put the label above the field instead of inside the field as a placeholder text. When users type in the field, the placeholder text goes away, and that can be confusing for the user. Provide inline validation so that users will know immediately about any errors they enter before they submit the form.

Use Readable Typography and Adequate Spacing

Use clean, sans-serif fonts that can be rendered clearly at the smaller sizes. Ensure that the text and the background contrast well enough that the recommended contrast ratio established by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of at least 4.5:1 for standard size.

You’re not alone in having a cramped, small screen experience due to compact layouts. Provide enough space between each actionable item by having sufficient whitespace around each actionable item. The line height of text should be between 1.5 and 1.7. Use a visual separation between sections of content to provide proper spacing between each section.

Design for Interruptions and Context

Desktop users tend to be stationary and focused while using their browsers, while mobile users may be using their apps/ browsers intermittently, with frequent interruptions and switching between multiple apps.

To meet this challenge, build in continued user progress while users are filling out forms or proceeding through a checkout process so that a user can reconnect to their previous progress if they permanently log out, or return later. Using a persistent session state and a thoughtful session management strategy will also allow users to continue in their session without further disruption.

Utilize scannable page designs. Use headings to denote content sections and allow quick scanning through the body of text through short paragraphs, bolding key points, and using a visual hierarchy so users can quickly find what they need to find, even when they only have 60 seconds to find something.

Final Thoughts

Improving the mobile UI/UX experience will be a continuous and evolving process. Users' expectations of the mobile experience will be continually changing based on the new devices that are being produced, the functionality of your products as they grow, and the subsequent iterations that your products go through. The best mobile user experience is from teams that continuously study and assess user feedback, study user behaviour, and review their product design.

The key elements of mobile user experience:

Build the design of the mobile product for mobile users as your primary audience
Focus on the speed that your user will experience when using your mobile product
Overcome the traditional limitations of thumb navigation by providing a thumbs-up experience
Build forms that provide a straightforward, easy-to-complete experience
Deliver text that is easy to read by providing sufficient font size and spacing between lines of text when the user parses through the text of your mobile product
Build your user experience and product with constant testing by real/actual users.

If you provide great mobile user experiences, the other metrics will take care of themselves ( decrease bounce rate, increase users' time spent engaged, and create stronger relationships between customer and product). In a world that continues to see the importance of mobile to all aspects of daily living; and as such, these results should be seen more as an expected norm of success than as a true competitive advantage.