May 2, 2012

Mobile Website Advice from a Leading Restaurant Chain

Donna Payne the Web Coach SEO content developer
Written by Donna Payne

tacoTo reach your “out and about” customers (like my daughter – LOL!) you’ll need to provide the main information the customer is looking for.

#1. What is the goal of our mobile site visitor?

The mobile site should give the visitor immediate information they need right now.

Common reasons:

  • Finding a nearby location
  • Finding company contact information
  • Looking for deals and coupons
  • Learning more about products

#2. Size absolutely matters!

You can’t afford for your mobile visitor to leaf thru irrelevant information.  In other words, scale down the mobile site to the bare-bones-basics.

  • Store locator and Google map
  • Click to call
  • Menu/ordering, product info

#3.  Design is important = Thumb friendly!

The last thing you need is for customers to become frustrated with your slow loading site.  You may have thought you had 3-5 seconds to capture attention on a desktop website… you have even LESS on a mobile!  Provided your site does load without fault, make sure buttons are large enough for people to navigate with their thumbs.  Seriously! No tiny buttons!

Keep this in mind when planning for your mobile site:

  • Efficient and streamlined coding and design.
  • Absolutely NO FLASH.  Ever!  (Flash is incompatible with mobile today)
  • Make sure your mobile redirect is working and smooth.  This action detects which operating system the visitor is using and directs them to the correct version.
  • Rendering.  This means how the site displays on mobile devices.  What looks great on an iPhone, may look terrible on a Blackberry.  Be sure to test your site in all mobile devices.

#4.  Branding.

Make sure you follow your current brand scheme:

  • Logo
  • Colors
  • Products

This way, your visitors will know they’ve landed on the right page.

#5.  Care for, and nurture your mobile baby!

You can’t afford to let your site go stale, otherwise your visitors may never return!  Include mobile in your regular marketing calendar, and be sure to post specials, coupons and other events you would post online or in store.

Now that you know how to make your site more mobile-friendly, it’s time to take action! Set an appointment with The Web Coach or call Donna today 419 961-1008.