In mobile web design, one mistake could be all it takes. Some of these mistakes will cause your websites to not display properly at all. Others will simply frustrate mobile users and cause them to leave. These are five of the biggest mobile web design mistakes you should absolutely avoid.
==> Mistake #1: Using Flash
There are many reasons not to use Flash. For one, search engines hate it. Video often doesn’t parse properly and it can cause browsers to crash. Most importantly, however, it’s terrible for mobile.
None of the iOS devices support Flash, including the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad. If your website is in Flash, it simply won’t display on the most popular mobile web operating system.
==> Mistake #2: Using JavaScript
JavaScript does work on many mobile devices. On the other hand, it also doesn’t work on many mobile devices. On many mobile devices, JavaScript works – but intermittently.
Many JavaScript commands that work well on desktop don’t work on mobile at all. In short, it’s inconsistent. You can’t build a solid mobile framework on JavaScript.
==> Mistake #3: Using Pop-Ups
On a desktop computer, a pop-up can be a little annoying. The box pops up, then people just close it and move along.
On a mobile device, however, a pop-up can be downright infuriating. First, it opens a new window on your device. Then it takes up bandwidth to load. Then users realize it wasn’t valuable content – and will most likely leave your site for good.
Never use pop-ups on mobile websites. It’s much, much worse than pop-ups on desktop browsers.
==> Mistake #4: Have Small Buttons
On desktop browsers, clicking small buttons is pretty easy. Most people are able to click on buttons as small as 5 pixels by 5 pixels. On mobile devices, it’s a different story.
If a button is small, it’s not only hard to click – it can be impossible. People will often end up clicking the button next to the button they’re trying to click.
The finger is a clumsy tool. Keep that in mind when you’re designing your button sizes.
==> Mistake #5: Content Overload
Another common mistake is to put a ton of content on one page. This works on desktop-based browsers because people have a lot of screen space with which to read.
On mobile devices, having a lot of content on one page or a lot of images just clutters things. It makes it very hard for people to find what they’re looking for.
These five mistakes will make your site either difficult to browse or completely impossible. Make sure you avoid these mistakes – and if your designer suggests doing one of these things, it might be time to find a new designer.