With the growing popularity of smartphones, optimizing websites for mobile use for News and Media Publishers is no longer an option, but a necessity. There are two main reasons why news and publishers should prioritize mobile optimization.
First, mobile devices account for 60.67% of website traffic, and 92.3% of internet users access the internet via smartphones. This trend has been particularly prominent in the news and media sectors, where real-time and quick access to information is important. As a result, a massive chunk of your readership is likely to access your website on a smartphone. And providing a smooth experience is a must to keep them engaged on your platform.
Secondly, Google has announced a complete transition to using the smartphone crawler for indexing websites. Google will now exclusively use mobile-first indexing. This means that your mobile site’s performance and user experience will directly influence your website’s position in search engine rankings. If organic traffic is a significant source of your traffic, you can’t afford to ignore this change.
Websites that are not optimized for smartphones will be ranked lower in SERP rankings compared to those that offer a pleasant mobile browsing experience. As a publisher, you know that this can significantly impact visibility and traffic.
So what can you do as a publisher to improve your reader’s mobile browsing experience? Read on to find out the exact actionable steps.
1. Responsive Website Design
A responsive website layout seamlessly adapts to different screen sizes of smartphones without needing any active intervention, providing an optimal viewing experience across devices. When you implement responsive website design, you don’t need to host separate mobile and desktop pages, simplifying maintenance and improving user experience.
Ensure that the theme you are using is responsive and can adapt to the most popular screen sizes. This way you can be rest assured that your website’s layout, images, and text automatically adjust to fit the screen size- whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop.
2. Mobile-Friendly Content
Text that is harder to read on a mobile screen would not be able to Ensure that your font sizes and styles are easily readable on small screens. Avoid small or overly decorative fonts as they can strain mobile users’ eyes.
Ad Banner Optimization
Use correctly sized mobile ad banners that do not overlap with your existing content. Properly scaled ads prevent disruption in the reading experience and improve overall user satisfaction.
Optimized Images and Videos
Use mobile-friendly formats and sizes for images and videos. Compress and resize images without sacrificing quality, and You can use formats like WebP that compresses and resize images without sacrificing quality.
For videos, you can consider using formats such as MP4 that offer good quality at lower file sizes.
3. Improve Page Load Times
Combine files wherever possible to reduce the number of HTTP queries. Implement lazy loading for images and videos to ensure that they only load when they enter the user’s viewport, decreasing initial load times.
Enable Browser Caching
Use browser caching to store frequently accessed files locally on visitors’ devices, resulting in faster subsequent visits to your site.
Use Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Implement AMP to create fast-loading mobile pages. AMP strips down your content to its essentials, reducing load times and improving user experience.
4. Focus on User Experience
Design a mobile-friendly menu that’s easy to navigate. Use clear, simple labeling, and make sure the menu is easily accessible without extensive scrolling or tapping.
Clickable Elements
Make sure the buttons and links are large enough to tap effortlessly. Don’t place clickable components too close to avoid accidental clicks.
Consistent Layout
Maintain a consistent design and layout across pages to ensure a comfortable and intuitive user experience. Consistency allows readers to browse your site and improves their overall experience.
5. Implement Push Notifications on Mobile
Grow your mobile subscriber base with push notifications. Tools like iZooto enable you to reach and engage users across OS and devices (and generate repeat traffic).
1000+ media businesses leverage iZooto’s push notifications to send targeted breaking news alerts directly to their subscribers’ devices, increasing engagement and keeping their audience informed in real-time.
6. Analytics and Testing
You can use Google Analytics 4 to track user behavior on mobile devices and identify key metrics and areas for improvement to optimize your site further.
A/B Testing
You’ll need to regularly conduct A/B testing to find out what kind of design and content variations perform best on mobile. This data-driven approach will help you make informed decisions to enhance user experience.
Mobile Usability Testing
You can use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and fix usability issues. Regular testing ensures that your site remains accessible and user-friendly. You can also test your website on PageSpeed Insights or GTMatrix for a comprehensive performance analysis of your website.
7. Performance Optimization
Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
You can drastically reduce file sizes by minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. This process helps you remove unnecessary characters and spaces, speeding up load times.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
You can also use a CDN to distribute your content globally. CDNs reduce latency and improve load times by serving content from servers closest to the user.
Optimize Server Response Time
To ensure your server is fast and reliable, you’ll need to regularly monitor and optimize server response times to provide a smooth user experience.
Back in 2010, predicting that mobile devices would outnumber desktop computers was a bold statement. Now, in 2024, it is our reality. In today’s digital environment, it is critical to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, easy to use, and functioning. With the tips shared in this article, news and media publishers can develop a compelling user experience that converts mobile users into loyal customers.
