Six ways to improve mobile usability

6 ways to improve mobile usability

www.usability247.com

A survey of 1000 UK smartphone
users revealed that 29% had made a
purchase using the mobile web, in
the previous 6 months.
With this figure only set to increase,

does your site offer effective mobile
usability?


This presentation offers advice on the lowdown,

nitty-gritty aspects of usability, drawing on our
own experiences of testing, to give you 6 tips

that will aid in improving the user experience of
your mobile product.


One of the key things we look for

Here is a nice

when mobile usability testing, is the

example from

ability to easily navigate the

FatFace. Very little

screen, without frustration or

scrolling here.

confusion. We have found that
too much scrolling can lead to the
user getting lost.


A bit of scrolling but
there is good visual
Not too bad

differentiation.

from BT.


From Showcase
cinemas. It’s
kinda…..


…long.
A little too much
perhaps.


A little bit of
horizontal
scrolling

But only 4
pages

And an
unfortunate
message on the
final page.
Neither is this an
app, nor can the
user get to the full
website due to the
mobile redirect.


So where scrolling is concerned, obey these

three rules:
1. Keep it simple, and don't clutter screen
estate with unnecessary features
2. Limit scrolling to one direction only
3. A single column layout works best with

mobile


Often overlooked, is the problem of
images. To improve mobile usability,
these must be resized to suit the screen
upon which they're displayed. Otherwise

they take up too much space, and lead
to ugly repositioning of other on-screen

elements. Responsive Web Design is one
way of doing this automatically.

Mashable
do this well


The ease-of-use nature of mobile makes it all the more
important for quick access to the various elements on longer
pages and during transactions.
One suggestion we make is to ensure that anchor links
reflect where the user is in their journey so that key content is

not hidden away. Another is to save a few user clicks by
presenting the text or numeric keyboard at the right time.


Anchor point
at top of
page…..

…pushes next
step content
below the fold.

This might be a
better anchor
point…

….. to drive
the next
action.


I’m typing an
email
address…

…so this text
keyboard is
fine

But now I am
entering a
phone number..

…I need the
numeric
keyboard


1. Ensure pages later in a process

anchor based on next user action
not what you want to be visible

2. If the input is a number, bring up the
numeric keyboard.
3. If the input is text bring up the text
keyboard


Avoid taking up a considerable portion of the
screen with your header. We have seen brands

throw everything at it, even the kitchen sink.
That meant oversized branding, search bars,

'Find a store', contact details, all cluttering up

Fold

the 'before the fold' screen estate.


Strictly speaking the
header is quite small
for Marks and
Spencer.

Very efficient
header

But both
use large
images

Big
Image

FatFace use the
images beyond
the homepage as
shown here in the
“Mens”section.

which pushes actionable content more
than half way down the page.

Ebay: nice,
tidy header
1. Ask yourself what really needs including in

the header. A search bar can be useful, for
quickly finding a product, but not at the

expense of usability
2. Keep the design lean, and clutter-free

3. Check out eBay for a nice, clean example
of how it can be done


It's a big commitment for users to hand over

their card details to a complete stranger.
This is particularly the case with m-

commerce, where security issues remain at

FatFace allow
payment by
PayPal – great for
mobile users

the forefront of users' minds. However, we

have found that mobile users love PayPal,
offering them a safe, and protected
environment in which to make a purchase.
Be sure that your mobile site accepts it.

Some organisations are not yet providing a good mobile experience. They may have an
app, have started to optimise for mobile or be planning a responsive web designed site.
They should hurry. People are using mobile now.


To ensure the optimal

usability of your mobile sites,
and apps, contact

Usability247 today!

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Six ways to improve mobile usability

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