5 Ways Responsive Web Design Can Increase Mobile Conversion

The growing popularity of mobile devices — as a result of smartphones we can’t live without — such as Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy, has resulted in the decline of desktop usage, and the increasing trend of customers purchasing through their mobile device.

Many businesses, surprisingly have still failed to adapt their website presence to be responsive on a variety of platforms which is failing to maximise conversions, with 48% of users stating that if they arrive on a business site that isn’t optimised on mobile, they feel the business cannot be taken seriously.

Below we’ve put together five ways a responsive web design can increase the likelihood of mobile conversions for your customers.

1) Speed

The speed of your website on your mobile device will determine the likelihood of a mobile conversion with 67% of users stating that they’re more likely to purchase a product or service from a site that is mobile-friendly and loads quick.

Ensure you’ve optimised your website for a variety of browsers specific to the most popular mobile devices with the iPhone 6 the most popular handheld device sold in 2014, followed by Samsung’s Galaxy S5, it may be worthwhile prioritising certain devices over others, especially if you have a limited budget.

2) Keep the Design Clean and Simple

With mobile devices possessing a smaller screen compared to desktop devices. It is important to maintain a user friendly experience that is specific to your mobile device. Creating a clean and simple design, with clear objectives is more likely to lead to mobile conversions.

The best online UX/UI takes the user through a short, simple and concise purchase process. Also leaving a clear marketing message to the customer, which will further impact your word of mouth marketing.

3) Effective Navigation

The navigation on a desktop can’t be identical to the navigation on a mobile device. Not only are the screen sizes different, but customer behaviours on mobile are different and vary from platform to platform.

A trend that is often popular with mobile devices is parallax scrolling. This allows users to stay on the same page (which also doesn’t involve issues with loading pages from a mobile device) more likely to lead to a purchase from the user.

4) Short Purchase Journey

The trick with encouraging mobile conversions lies in the user purchase journey on your website. The shorter, smoother purchase journey experience, increases the likelihood of a purchase.

Keep the process short and sweet. Give the users the option of checking out without having to register and/or even allowing customers to purchase with a PayPal account — a quicker solution to typing in your debit/credit card details.

5) Optimised Across A Variety of Mobile Devices

Probably the most important factor when developing your website is ensuring you have made it responsive on a variety of mobile devices, as 88% of users feel that a professionally designed website builds trust.

Mobile is becoming more influential by the day, with 91 percent of adults keeping their smartphones within arm’s reach, mobile search is becoming increasingly important with 50% of mobile searches leading to purchases, a business failing to optimise their website so that it is responsive on a variety of mobile devices is simply failing to maximise online conversions.