The subject of the importance of mobile-focus when it comes to web design and development has largely become cliché in its own right. We know it’s the new standard, we know it’s where the future lies and we know that those failing to deliver run the risk of falling behind. But at the same time, evidence suggests that an overwhelming number of businesses are still nowhere near up to scratch when it comes to mobile site content.
So for those who may be struggling to make their websites sing for mobile visitors, here’s a quick rundown of just a few tips focused on mobile-friendly copy creation:
1. Focus on Images
First up, detailed analysis into the habits and behaviours of mobile consumers shows that images have vastly more power and impact than text. The eye is naturally drawn towards images over text and the overall appeal of a mobile webpage can be increased exponentially by focusing more on images. You might not get away with no text at all, but paying more attention to images in your content creation roadmap represents a good place to start.
2. Simplicity and Impact
Always bear in mind that in most instances, your mobile site visitors may only have a few minutes, maybe even seconds to take in what you have to say. As such, the key lies in mastering the art of getting your point across as quickly, clearly, concisely and completely as possible. This means focusing on simplicity, removing anything that doesn’t need to be there and not beating about the bush – just get to the point and move on.
3. Remember the inverted Triangle
By using eyeball tracking technology, it has been possible to work out exactly where and for how long the average eye lands on a mobile webpage. The results show that 86% of the time a consumer spends on each page is confined to the top two-thirds, while 68% of time is also spent toward the central regions of the screen. The overall picture is one of an upside-down triangle, which maps out the area of the screen in which your most important content should be positioned.
4. Engage with Headlines
The simple fact of the matter here is that if you fail to grab their attention with your headlines, it’s highly unlikely they’ll bother reading any further. Again, with such a short amount of time available to both hook them and tell them what they need to know, mobile customers don’t tend to waste time on pages with boring, uninspiring, confusing or fluff-filled headlines.
5. Use Plenty of Bullet Points
Given the importance of brief, hard-hitting information, the value of bullet-points in mobile web content should be largely self-explanatory. It’s a brilliant way of cramming paragraphs of key points into a few simple lines, allowing the reader to fully grasp what it is you’re saying in a matter of seconds. They of course need to be impactful, but can be great when the reader only has a few seconds available to scan your pages.
6. Flawless Only
Last but not least, never forget that the less written content there is on any of your pages, the more any slight mistakes will stick out like sore thumbs. When you’ve only got a few minutes and a very short amount of copy with which to win over your site’s visitors, the importance of flawlessness steps up massively. If proofreading isn’t your strong point, think about involving a third-party to give it a good going over on your behalf.
