Is your website slow on mobile? Here are a few tips to speed your website up.
It’s just a regular day, except that you notice that website visitors seem to be dropping like flies. You decide to check your analytics to see the Google Core Web Vitals only to discover that your website’s mobile speed is lower than it should be. In fact, the speed is abysmal. So, that’s why people are bailing!
Don’t worry. This is something you can easily fix. There’s a lot we could say on the subject, but we’ve put our heads together to boil it down to a few simple techniques that you can start with to improve website speed for users on mobile devices.
Switch to a More Responsive Design
In the past, businesses would create two separate versions of their website – one for desktop and one for mobile – which would operate independently of each other. This is no longer the case. Most sites have now switched to responsive design, which allows a business to have a single website that automatically adapts for both desktop and mobile depending on the device being used. This improves the site’s performance and mobile page speed, so if you haven’t already made the switch, you should do so immediately.
Make a Move Toward Minimalism
Too many websites today feel – oh, what’s the word? – muddled. As soon as you open the page, you’re inundated with text, videos, images, flashing light patterns, multiple links, etc. And God forbid you scroll down because then ads are popping up all over the place and images move around for some reason.
This is horrible enough on a desktop, but it’s atrocious on a mobile device. Switch to a minimalistic design where everything is properly spaced and all of that flashy stuff stays at a… you guessed it… minimal.
Cut Down on Videos and Images
Yes, we kind of just touched on reducing videos and images, but it deserves to have its own point because that’s how important it is. Not only does an influx of these things make your site look messy, but it adds to the weight of the site, which really bogs down the loading times on mobile.
Only include a video if it’s absolutely necessary. Same goes with an image carousel. While it’s true that image carousels can improve the user experience, you may want to switch to a single pertinent image if the site is loading slowly.
Switch Your Site to “Lazy Loading”
Being lazy doesn’t seem like something that would optimize a business in any way, but this is one time when it will. “Lazy loading” refers to loading everything above the fold first and then loading other parts of the page as a person scrolls down. This actually makes a lot of sense.
After all, many visitors never even go below the fold, so why load the entire page at once? You’ll see this technique on multiple sites and it’s a great way to improve website speed on mobile devices.
Put the Search Bar Above the Fold
Many users who visit your site know what they’re looking for, but they don’t know exactly where to find it, so they’ll turn to the search bar. You should always make sure that the search bar is above the fold and easily identified as soon as the page loads.
This will speed up the user experience because instead of poking around multiple drop-down menus and going from page to page, with each page loading separately, he or she will be able to go more directly to the proper page they need.
Streamline the Checkout Process
Why do so many websites continue to have overly complicated checkout processes? There are some sites where you go to the cart, click “please order,” and then you’re taken to billing/shipping information, followed by another page with credit card information, and then you get to a confirmation screen where you finally get to place the order.
It’s much better to do everything on one page as much as possible. Simply include billing, shipping, credit card, and order confirmation on the same page. Then, add an “Are you sure?” pop-up button as the order confirmation. This will save tons of loading time on a mobile device.
Contact P3 Agency to Improve Website Speed on Mobile Devices
The P3 Agency excels in marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and web design in Clearwater and the surrounding areas. If you have any questions on how to improve website speed for mobile or would like a free marketing assessment, give us a call at 727 474-9064 today.
