5 Tips to Optimizing Your Website to Work Across Multiple Devices

Did you know? Your audience isn’t on one screen anymore. 90% of people switch between devices, be it smartphones, PCs, tablets or televisions in order to accomplish a task. As such, a ‘one size fits all’ development strategy is no longer relevant in today’s dynamic age. Consumers expect a seamless browsing experience regardless of what device they use. And that’s why it’s pivotal to optimize your website for multi-device viewing or risk compromising on user experience.

Here’s a quick guide to optimizing your site across multiple devices:

1) Understanding Your Website Visitors

You need to know who your consumers are before optimizing your website. Analyze where the traffic is coming from, the device types they’re using and the kind of content they’re interested in. If the traffic coming in from mobile devices is less than 10%, then you probably won’t need a separate mobile version. Remember, the key to providing seamless user experiences starts with keeping your customer at the core of your website development strategy.

2) Go Responsive

Since its explosive entry into the arena, responsive web design has grabbed the center-stage when it comes to delivering websites that can be viewed on multiple devices. The design instinctively detects the device and adapts to it in order to provide a rich user experience. If your website doesn’t include advanced features, this option can achieve the best outcome.

3) Build a Separate Mobile Version

If your site demands a lot of functionality, including interactions with mobile users, forms and other actions, it’s better to create a dedicated mobile version of your site. This will allow you to focus on enhancing the overall experience on mobile devices, address specific challenges such as navigation, content visibility, page speed, etc.

4) Dynamic Serving

While on some levels, it is similar to responsive design, the primary difference lies in the fact that the HTML structure of the site alters as per the device, while the URL remains the same. The biggest advantage offered by dynamic serving is the creation of custom page content based on the device. For example, if a video is too large to be played on a mobile device, the custom page can be designed so that it’s removed.

5) Improve Constantly

Keep a vigilant eye on the stats, assess the site interactions of users from multiple devices, identify any flaws in your strategy, ask your visitors for feedback and improve on a continuous basis. Delivering flawless UX across multiple devices is no longer optional, rather a must if you want your business to succeed in the online space. You can always get in touch with Openwave’s web design team for solutions.