Mobile users are the most common type of internet user these days, and for that reason, they’re not a group you want to annoy or frustrate — especially with your web design. While it’s often unintentional, it still happens far too often, which ends up being bad for your business. As a digital communication agency that has built quality sites for several years, we wanted to share our 10 web design mistakes that annoy mobile users.
1- Slow loading speeds
This is a killer for desktop users, but even more so for mobile users. Mobile networks are getting faster but not fast enough to overcome loading speeds. If you don’t load in 3 seconds or less, you risk losing users and the possible conversions that go with them. On top of that, loading speed is included in how Google reviews search results as well as customer satisfaction, so slow loading will affect you directly on two fronts.
2- No zoom
It can be fun to watch someone try to zoom in or out on a site where zoom is disabled, at least for a few minutes. Then they get annoyed at the site — and at you for laughing about it. You should always have zoom enabled, because it makes everything easier to see when needed.
3- Inaccessible phone numbers
Why? If you have a phone number listed on your website, set it as a link that opens a phone call with device detection for mobile users. Otherwise, users have to quickly memorize the number before trying to dial it, which is a design flaw because it adds an unnecessary step.
4- Messy web fonts
Fonts can be tricky if you don’t know them well. If they don’t load in the right order, it can slow down the whole load.
5- Blocked content
Have you ever seen content blocked on a mobile site because it wanted you to download the app instead (such as Quora, for example)? It’s annoying and irritates a lot of users. Don’t force users to perform an action such as providing their location, downloading an app, or signing up just to view the content. Google announced it would start penalizing people for this in 2017, because people can’t get the expected content in their search results.
6- The use of gestures
Many people have gotten used to swiping and tapping because of the increased use of these on touchscreens and operating systems, but they’re not always universal. There are different types of swipes, and taps can have various effects depending on the options built into the mobile browser, which then happens before your action can take place. Testing is important to make sure your site works on all types of browsers and devices, especially when you use gestures.
7- Hidden navigation
If people can’t easily find the navigation buttons, how are they going to get where they want to go? It seems obvious, and yet, on some sites, you can’t find navigation options quickly or easily. Navigation should always be obvious and intuitive, otherwise users will get frustrated and leave.
8- Too much social media
If a little is good, a lot is better, right? Not always when it comes to social media buttons and how they can clutter a small mobile space. It’s not only the size of the button in the space but also how it affects loading speeds. On top of that, mobile users often don’t share to social media from a website the way they do in an app, so putting lots of social media buttons on your mobile site is most often just a waste of time, space and energy.
9- Touch points that are too small
If you use tapping as an action or navigation option, make sure the tap point is large enough. Designers use pixels to determine a touch point, but this then has to be considered against the standard used by mobile web browsers, otherwise your touch point could end up being smaller and harder to use than you thought.
10- Poor carousel design
For e-commerce sites that use a carousel, there’s a right and a wrong way to do it in the eyes of a mobile user. Often, on a mobile device, a user only sees the first slide and ignores everything else. Navigation can also take a hit depending on the options you provide relative to the mobile browser. These elements should be considered at the mobile level first, then built for the desktop site.
Most importantly, the mobile user is the one you should be catering to as well. If your site has one of the 10 design mistakes that annoy mobile users, you’re doing more harm than good to your business, because you could unintentionally drive away a business that could instead help increase your profits.
Did you enjoy this article? Don’t hesitate to check out our blog to discover other interesting articles, and drop a comment to tell us what you thought of this one.