Mobile media traffic is at an all time high in the U.S. and this trend isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. As smartphones and other mobile devices advance, they continue to replace desktops and laptops all together. If your site isn’t able to reach the mobile audience, then there is a significant market segment that you could be missing - giving your competitors a leg up.

The term responsive web design refers to developing a site that adjusts to the specific platform each viewer chooses to use. In fact, Google’s top recommendation for mobile optimization is a responsive site. But before starting to design for a mobile friendly site, you must first think about the content. Follow these 5 guidelines to make your website content ready for a responsive design.

Know Your Audience
People using mobile phones or tablets to surf the web may have different needs than those viewing your site on a desktop or laptop. Many people no longer own a desktop and laptop, and even those that do often still choose the convenience of their mobile devices. Identifying what the audience expects across multiple platforms will allow you to deliver the best website experience possible.

Mobile First, Desktop Second
When redesigning your site for mobile optimization, it is best to begin thinking about the user experience on the smallest platform, such as smartphones, before scaling up to tablets and desktops. Features and design elements that are simple enough for an elegant mobile experience are easier to expand upon for larger screens, while complex interfaces don’t often translate for mobile users.

Information Architecture
Information architecture is the logical organization of your site’s content to enhance user-experience, maximize search engine optimization, and encourage conversions. As mobile phones and tablets have smaller screens and thus less room to display information, it’s crucial that content is ordered according to the user’s intent. The information that satisfies the most users should be at the top, leaving the least pertinent information for the bottom.

Text
When it comes to the written copy on your website, regardless of screen size, always follow the golden rule of web copy -“less is more”. Truncating long text and providing links to read more is one way to avoid your mobile readers from having to scroll through enormous amounts of text. Typography must also be considered. While some fonts may display beautifully on your desktop, on a mobile phone the same font may not be legible. Also, using ems, a scalable unit of measurement for font size is much more flexible than the more commonly known fixed-size pixel units.

Images
Images are an important part of the content on your site and thus, your overall message. But if you don’t choose images of the right size and proper formatting, it could significantly slow down your site’s load time. To ensure that images render the same across different screens, format images according to percentage widths and heights instead of fixed-size pixels. This will ensure that your image takes up the same amount of screen - no matter the device.

Need More Help? Contact Cool Blue for evaluation of the responsiveness of your content.