In the 2020s, a mobile website is just as important as a desktop one, sometimes even more so. The problem with this idea is that we’ve all grown up seeing desktops and laptops as the default.
The average business owner is not yet fully comfortable with or accustomed to targeting mobile systems. Add to this the complexities of creating a consistent design across both forms of access, and the issue becomes even more pronounced.
Taking a look at some standout examples from the world wide web, it’s possible to gain a better perspective on potential solutions.
While not universally applicable, these ideas can at least relay a better understanding of the issues per website, and what frame of mind can address inherent challenges.
Google Maps
According to Google’s stats, more than a billion people use Maps every month. The website is useful by itself in terms of printing out maps for later, but its ability to help people find their way on the go is what sets it apart.
With real-time tracking and traffic updates, a Google Map in the hand is vastly superior to old paper systems, but it’s also more cramped.
To address these concerns, the official Google Maps mobile app incorporates scrolling, scaling, and legend functionality to narrow down exactly what the user needs. Maps can even be downloaded, so a user will have access if they lose an internet connection, or run out of data.
Interactive Entertainment Sites
Web-based interactive entertainment like that on Vegas Slots Online has been popular since the popularization of the internet, and like maps, these also translated well to mobiles. The games like Golden Goddess and 5 Dragons are the easy part.
They have thousands of other free games to play, and the vertical nature of the titles makes them natural fits for mobile screens. More complicated are the pages themselves.
Built around demonstrating hundreds of titles, getting these websites to display efficiently on mobiles meant rescaling each key feature to fit as well as possible.
This meant a balancing act of creating links small enough to show off the variety, while not making elements so small they’re unreadable.
Sales Sites
Extending the challenge from casino websites is the complexity faced by sales websites like Etsy. These services balance both showing readers a basic range, as well as building around search functionality for more specific guidance.
This is again an instance where filters and scaling are paramount. Showing too many items means users will miss details, whereas showing too little could make users grow fatigued in their constant scrolling and stopping.
Natural Fits
On the other side of the spectrum are websites like Buzzfeed and targeted apps like TikTok. Even on desktops, these websites have been built with constant vertical scrolling in mind, so they required little modification to fit the mobile space.
This represents an ideal level of consistency, but it’s only workable on simple websites thanks to the small amount of information they have to relay.
Taken as a whole, a pattern emerges where each website needs to be as streamlined as possible, while still bound by the minutia of its industry. It might be possible for Google Maps to simplify itself further, for example, but if the cost is functionality, then the change will hurt more than it will help.
Creating the best mobile website possible means experimenting, seeing things from the user’s point of view, and being okay with change. A flexible frame of mind can make all the difference in the world in creating your website, whether emulating another or trying your unique approach.