One thing I’ve noticed in recent years is more and more consumers are making purchases directly from their smartphones or tablets instead of desktop computers. In fact, according to Emarketer’s Insider Intelligence, 2023 global mcommerce sales are predicted to reach $415.93 billion, accounting for 6% of retail sales.
As an ecommerce retailer, it’s essential to understand how your customers’ shopping behaviors and preferences differ across devices. You need to optimize your product and landing pages for the best experience on both mobile and desktop.
While the core elements remain the same, the layout, content, and features may need to be adjusted for the smaller screens and unique user habits of mobile users.
That’s what I want to cover in this article. In short, we’ll explore some of the top tips for optimizing your ecommerce landing pages for mobile vs. desktop.
With the right strategy, you can connect with customers, boost conversions, and maximize revenue across all devices.
Craft a Mobile-First Design
Let’s start with a mobile-first approach…
With mobile driving an increasingly large share of ecommerce transactions, your website layout should cater to these smartphone shoppers as the default. You can then scale up elements for desktop after.
Some best practices for mobile-friendly landing page design include:
- Use a simple, decluttered layout with lots of white space
- Make tap targets large and buttons easy to press
- Allow for one column scrolling with key info “above the fold”
- Include large text and images
- Ensure pages load quickly – keep page size under 2MB
Streamlining page elements for mobile removes distractions and drives conversions. Test different versions to find the right balance between simplicity and including enough value-adding content above the fold.
Personalize for Micro-Moments
Consider the fact that people engage with their smartphones in shorter sessions throughout the day; I know I definitely do.
These “micro-moments” change the context of the mobile shopping experience. When someone reaches for their phone to shop, they likely have a specific intent tied to their current need or context.
Some examples include:
- Killing time on a commute and browsing products visually
- Researching a particular item quickly while in a store
- Comparing prices before making an impulse purchase
Your website copy and content should align with these motivating factors. Include clear calls-to-action so people can seamlessly transition from browsing to buying.
Optimize Navigation Menus
The small screen real estate on mobile makes your website navigation critical. Menus should be simple and streamlined, allowing customers to easily find what they need with minimal effort.
Some tips for mobile navigation menus:
- Prioritize primary categories/shop pages in the main menu
- Use accordion-style collapsible menus to hide secondary pages
- Include search bars and account icons for easy access
- Position menus fixed at the top or bottom for persistent access
- Remove unnecessary links to declutter
Testing different menu styles and item placements will show you what works best for your customers and site goals.
Resize Images for Faster Loads
Large image files can slow down load speeds, which hurts both user experience and conversions on mobile. As page size increases, mobile bounce rates also rise.
I’d recommend using compressed image files in the correct sizes for your mobile layout. Also leverage lazy loading to only load images as customers scroll down the page.
Some tips:
- Compress JPGs and resize to appropriate mobile width
- Use newer file formats like WebP for better compression
- Set image dimensions in HTML rather than letting them scale up
- Lazy load below the fold images to prevent massive file sizes on initial load
- Include responsive images to serve the right size for each device
With optimized images, you can minimize page bloat and keep customers engaged.
Spotlight Products Visually
Phones are inherently more visual than desktop experiences. Leverage images and videos to showcase your products when users are browsing on mobile.
Some ideas to try:
- High quality product photos from multiple angles
- Short video demos showing the product in action
- Lifestyle images depicting your products’ use cases
- Zoomed-in details of materials, textures, or features
- Image-heavy carousels or galleries to flip through
Visual content engages mobile users and builds desire for your products as they browse.
Use Click-to-Call Buttons
While many customers will navigate your site and purchase directly on a mobile device, some will still prefer human contact. Include click-to-call buttons above the fold to make it easy for these shoppers to get quick answers.
Connecting by phone allows potential customers to:
- Speak to an expert when researching complex products
- Verify stock availability in real-time
- Get guidance choosing between product options
- Troubleshoot checkout or payment issues on the spot
Blending digital convenience with helpful human interaction can increase conversions.
Optimize Checkout with Autofill
The checkout process is the most critical part of your mobile customer journey. Cumbersome data entry on tiny mobile keyboards can ruin the experience.
Leverage autofill and other conveniences like Apple Pay to expedite checkout on mobile. Other tips I’d recommend include:
- Store customer data for fast autofill of forms
- Allow guest checkout options to avoid forced account registration
- Use responsive form validation to avoid errors tapping on small inputs
- Make the “Buy Now” button prominent on the checkout screen
- Offer easy access to support contact during checkout if needed
Look for any friction points that might cause customers to abandon their carts. Mobile checkout should be as seamless as possible.
Use Click Tracking for Behavior Analysis
As always, analytics is key to continually improving mobile experiences and conversions. Using tools like Google Analytics can reveal insights about customer behaviors.
Some key metrics to track:
- Bounce rates on mobile vs. desktop
- Pages and products frequently viewed on mobile
- Conversion rates and average order value by device
- Traffic referral sources driving mobile customers
- Behavior flow between landing page and checkout
Set up click tracking across your site to reveal optimal paths. See which buttons and calls-to-action perform best on mobile. Then double down on elements that work.
Prioritize Speed at All Costs
No other factor influences mobile conversions more than site speed. Even minor delays of a few seconds lead many customers to abandon a site and move to competitors.
Some ways to maximize mobile speed:
- Enable caching and compression
- Streamline page design and avoid anything unnecessary
- Optimize images as discussed above
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files
- Defer non-essential scripts
- Use a mobile-optimized hosting plan
- Test site speed and set goals using PageSpeed Insights
With faster mobile pages, you can boost engagement, conversions, and revenue.
Key Takeaways
Optimizing for mobile commerce requires understanding your customers’ needs across devices. By providing the best user experience, you can connect anytime and anywhere.
Some key tips include:
- Adopting a mobile-first strategy for design and layout
- Personalizing content for micro-moment behaviors
- Streamlining navigation menus
- Resizing images properly
- Using visual content to engage customers
- Removing friction from checkout
- Tracking analytics for ongoing refinement
Remember that speed is the ultimate priority. Faster mobile sites directly correlate with higher revenues.
Test different approaches until you find the right experience for your products, customers, and business goals. With the exponential growth in mobile shopping, I personally believe taking the time to optimize now will ensure your ecommerce success both today and in the future.