Mobile website design, like a lot of new industries, is awash with false wisdom, based on assumptions with little basis in reality. People see guidelines provided by the first wave of Mobile website designers to be absolute truths, which cannot be circumvented or improved upon. This attitude serves as a constraint on the talents of designers and the innovation that’s needed in such a competitive field. So what myths do you hear the most often?

We’re constantly told that mobile users want a quick, concise, sometimes heavily simplified experience on mobile websites. We’re told that users will get distracted quickly, they’re constantly sceptical and will avoid anything that takes more than 10 seconds to complete. The truth is that the behaviour of your users will vary based on demographics. The more diverse your potential audience, the more you may need to simplify, whereas niche audiences will appreciate greater detail and may hang around longer than expected. Average session times on mobile and Desktop are roughly equivalent, but bounce rates are slightly higher on mobile devices.

Another myth is that mobile websites are mostly used for basic activities: reading blogs or articles, getting information like contact details, so you can later visit the site on a full-feature desktop version. This was because mobile devices used to be much slower, and full browser capabilities weren’t possible not too long ago. However, smartphones have evolved mobile web browsing considerably, and you can do just about anything on your phone: fill out job applications, write documents, buy products from websites and anything else you can do on a desktop.

There’s also the fact that world trends indicate that desktop computers are slowly being phased out, outside of resource-heavy activities like gaming or video editing, in favour of a computer that fits in your pocket. 1 in 10 of US adults rely on their smartphone to use online services, and that number will grow bigger over time.
These two attitudes to website design tend to stifle the process of making a good website. Users aren’t mindless sheep who’ll wander off your site at the slightest distraction, nor do they appreciate a dumbed-down browsing experience to their desktop counterparts when they know their phones are capable of better. Be aware of your future users and what they want, and they will use your site over those that stuck to the safe option.

Chetaru is a web design and development agency based in Darlington that is excited about building a better future with the latest technological and IT solutions available. Chetaru has the IT know-how that your firm needs to succeed and thrive, from beautiful responsive websites to economical SEO services and useful mobile app designs.

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