5 Things Mobile Users Always Want

by George Konetes | Sep 27, 2016 | Digital

When it comes to creating a good mobile experience the best thing you can do is think like a user and give them what they want. Sometimes what users value is unique to your organization and what you offer, but there are a few common threads. Here are five things that mobile users always want.

1. Speed – Lighting fast loading and browsing ability

Anything less than instantaneous is too slow and every additional millisecond it takes to load wears on user’s patience and willingness to stick around. Optimize everything you can, your server, images, site structure, content types, backgrounds, videos, everything. Load time in paramount. No mobile user ever said “I wish this would take a little longer to load.”

2. Compatibility – Solutions that work with my device

Nothing is more annoying than searching and searching to find a solution that won’t work on your device. Support every major type of phone, tablet, watch and laptop that you can. If something must be device specific then offer handy alternatives for other devices.

3. Accuracy – Smart categorization and labeling

Call things what they are and what people commonly call them; vocabulary is critical. Labels are everything when it comes to mobile searching and keyword stuffing is the enemy of user experience. Think like a user, or better yet, get a few to test your mobile experience.

4. Simplicity – No fluff, distractions, or heavy lifting

Big images and long text are obviously a pain on mobile, but long forms are even worse. Avoid forms whenever possible, and when needed minimize the number of fields. Break up complex tasks and keep pages shorter. Less is more.

5. Foresight – Intuitive options and flow

Mobile users should feel like you have thought of everything. Try to determine what they are looking for, what the top needs are, and readily offer them. Autofill fields when possible, give buttons to call now, click to text, show store hours with a countdown to closing time, etc.

Most people creating for mobile are also mobile users themselves, but it is easy to get tunnel vision when you are creating. So get other mobile users to test, advice, and give you feedback on what they want and how you can better accommodate them.