4 Touch-Friendly Tips to Improve Mobile Conversion Rates

It’s no longer enough to offer websites that look good on mobile devices. Successful mobile marketing allows users to have meaningful interactions with your brand. To do this your content must be touch-friendly.

Updated July, 2015

Here we offer four touch-friendly tips:

1. Obey the fat finger rule: Small touch targets can lead to big problems. Just ask the Japanese stockbroker whose fat finger mistake led to an erroneous $600 billion order. The consequences for missing a touch target are rarely this dire. However, making touch targets too small or placing them too close together means that users with large (or clumsy) fingers will have trouble navigating your site. Too many missed targets and they’ll bounce.
2. Let important links take center stage: Research shows that users are most accurate when touch targets are in the middle of the screen. This is true regardless of how they hold their device or how big their screen is.
   • Place links and buttons for critical tasks in the center of the screen
   • Use the screen perimeter for secondary links and buttons
   • Don’t get too close to the edge or users with clunky phone cases won’t be able to activate them 
3. Save the fancy gestures: Many of us go out of our way to avoid something new, like a gesture, even though it might make a task easier. How many times have you been repeatedly auto-corrected (on the same word) instead of just clicking the ‘x’? In addition, some users don’t have the dexterity to perform complicated maneuvers.
   • Stick with simple gestures, such tapping or swiping, for completing essential tasks
   • Use more sophisticated gestures, such as a two-finger press and drag or anything requiring two hands, for advanced tasks
4. Make it easy for users to complete transactions: All your efforts are for not if users bounce before converting. This happens in nearly 6 in 10 e-commerce transactions. Whether your goal is to get them to make a purchase or sign up for a newsletter, help your users seal the deal:
   • Reduce typing by using roller bars, drop down menus or check boxes
   • Keep forms simple by asking for the minimum necessary information
   • Use auto-suggest to make it easier to complete text entry fields

Here’s more information to help you improve mobile conversion rates:

• 3 Ways Mobile Changed Web Writing
• How to Implement a Mobile Strategy That Works