Irish consumers are the most frequent online shoppers in the world. That’s no exaggeration–according to a 2017 PayPal study, 2.2 million Irish consumers made at least one online purchase in the last year.
Why are so many turning to online retailers? It’s mostly due to the fact local merchants are failing to optimize their websites for mobile use. As PayPal Vice President, Louise Phelan puts it, Irish retailers are missing a golden opportunity.
Mobile optimization isn’t just recommended anymore–it’s a requirement. To stay competitive in the international retail realm, you need a mobile-friendly website. Let’s talk about some ways to optimize your page.
Your customers are at the forefront of all digital marketing efforts. When designing a mobile-friendly site, you need to consider spending and usage habits. What links are they clicking on? Where are they coming from?
Most mobile-optimized websites will not contain all the information from their desktop counterpart. Mobile devices do not respond well to sites inundated with links and streaming content.
You want to list all of your product/service offerings, as well as relevant links, such as blog and contact pages. But, keep in mind that it’s more important to have an accessible site than one with a ton of fancy features.
Every function on your page should be easy to find and complete. One of the most common reasons a person abandons their online shopping carts is out of frustration during the check-out process.
But, optimizing for the consumer goes well beyond having a simple check-out process. Here are some core components of a user-friendly website:
Pop-ups sometimes get a bad rep, but when done tastefully, they can lead to conversions. If you plan to have pop-ups on your mobile website, you should only use 1 or 2. Analyze which ones perform the best on your desktop site.
Keep in mind Google can penalize you for having intrusive mobile pop-ups. Since these “interstitials” often lead to a poorer user experience, Google will now take action against any violators. (Websites that ask for age or cookie verification are exempt from these policies.)
To ensure your rankings aren’t affected by pop-ups, familiarize yourself with Google’s changes. The big takeaways are the amount of screen space a pop-up should take, as well as how easy it is to close.
Creating informative content will take you far in the online retailer world. Sharable blog content increases traffic to a site, generating better leads and sales.
Make sure your blog is shareable via social channels when designing for mobile. A vast majority of people read blogs from their mobile devices. You need to give readers multiple entry points for reposting your content.
Without a reliable host, your mobile website efforts are futile. You need a web host for all of the core elements to a well-functioning site. Who you work with determines your website’s speed and overall capability.
You should be able to deploy hundreds of applications through your provider’s network. Look for a web host that offers high-speed, easy navigation, and top security. Storage capability, monthly data transfer, and an included domain name are also important.
Who better to say what a customer would like than a customer themselves? Once you’ve developed a mobile-friendly site, employ the help of some of your more regular shoppers. They’ll help point you to areas that still need improvement.
You should ask them to be on the look-out for some key factors. Site-loading time and navigability are of high importance, as are the image, tab, and text size. Make sure your reader doesn’t have to scroll all around to find information.
They should also look for anything that may hinder their shopping process. Is your check-out form too long or confusing? Can you not make a purchase as a guest? Can they create a shopping cart for later use?
It’s good to have someone other than an employee or loved on look at your site. You need someone with an honest eye, not someone who will tell you what you want to hear.
Before launching your site, you should run it through Google’s Mobile-Friendly test. This one-minute test will assign a score to your site based on how well a visitor can navigate through it.
Google looks for usability issues, such as font sizes and the use of incompatible plug-ins. If there are any issues, they’ll recommend suggestions on how to optimize your page.
You can also use this tool to determine any critical site errors, such as hacked content. Run your site through this test even after you launch to find any inconsistencies.
Owning a mobile-friendly website is a great way to draw more online traffic. Use this guide to design a high-functioning lead-magnet site!
As we’ve mentioned, an adequate host provider needs to complement your mobile website. Host.ie is Ireland’s #1 choice for web hosting. Contact us today to learn about our packages or for any questions.
