What are some UX best practices for mobile-friendly websites?

1 Know your users

The first step to creating a mobile-friendly website is to know who your users are, what they want, and how they behave on mobile devices. You can use various UX research methods, such as surveys, interviews, personas, user journeys, and analytics, to collect and analyze data about your users. This will help you to define your user segments, goals, pain points, and motivations, and to tailor your design and content accordingly.

3 Simplify your layout

Mobile users have less screen space and more distractions than desktop users, so you need to simplify your layout and make it easy to scan and interact with. You can use a clear and consistent visual hierarchy, grid system, and typography, to organize your information and guide your users. You can also use whitespace, contrast, and color, to create focus and emphasis. You can also use UX metrics, such as readability, comprehension, and satisfaction, to evaluate and enhance your layout.

4 Adapt to different devices

Mobile users use different devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, with different screen sizes, orientations, and resolutions. You need to adapt your website to fit and function well on all these devices, without compromising the quality or functionality. You can use responsive design, which automatically adjusts your website layout and content to the device screen size and orientation, or adaptive design, which delivers different versions of your website based on the device type. You can also use UX metrics, such as usability, accessibility, and compatibility, to test and optimize your website for different devices.

5 Design for touch

Mobile users interact with your website through touch, rather than mouse or keyboard, so you need to design for touch. You can use touch-friendly elements, such as buttons, links, menus, and forms, that are large enough, well-spaced, and easy to tap. You can also use gestures, such as swipe, pinch, and zoom, to enable intuitive and natural interactions. You can also use UX metrics, such as task completion, error rate, and efficiency, to measure and improve your website interaction.

6 Follow mobile standards

Mobile users have certain expectations and conventions when browsing the web on their devices, so you need to follow mobile standards and best practices. You can use common and recognizable icons, symbols, and labels, to communicate your website functionality and meaning. You can also use familiar and consistent navigation patterns, such as hamburger menu, tab bar, or breadcrumb trail, to help your users find their way around your website. You can also use UX metrics, such as navigation ease, orientation, and recall, to assess and refine your website navigation.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?