The future of internet traffic will be routed through mobile devices, and we are already seeing the impact. In the latest reports, close to 1/3 of all traffic now goes through mobile devices, and some have even shown that the average person now spends more time each day browsing the internet through mobile devices than through a desktop computer. Such changes are bound to shake the foundation of the internet for years to come, but what effect will it have on ecommerce? Many have speculated that individuals are more inclined to make snap decisions and purchases while on mobile, so you should definitely have a site that can accommodate this fact. Below, we’ll outline some simple tips for growing your desired e-commerce traffic and increasing sales by having a mobile-friendly shopping site.

Separate or Respond?

The first part of creating a mobile-friendly store obviously pertains to how the site will display on mobile devices. You have two main choices here: you can use a responsive template that alters the site depending on the type of device accessing it, or you can create a separate site for mobile devices. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but we recommend that you use responsive design for most occasions. You will have more flexibility to custom-tailor your mobile site if you make a separate version, but most e-commerce models don’t really need massive alterations to generate sales this way. Plenty of content management systems like WordPress and Drupal have plugins available that will quickly create a responsive web design for mobile devices.

Simplify Your Layout

Even on a full-size monitor, a website with too many elements will appear cluttered and inefficient. Can you imagine how the same site would appear on a mobile device? The best place to begin is with the navigation elements; you want to ensure that visitors can quickly sort through categories and find a search function in case their particular item is not clearly indexed. On mobile versions, people are not going to be concerned with you pinging links to them about the history of your business as much as they will want to be able to access your site’s shop directly. As far as design and layout of your mobile store, we recommend that you keep it simple and use a single-column variation of a template.

Optimize for Speed

Mobile users are not as sensitive to speed concerns as desktop users, but you must understand that you have to deal with slower loading times on mobile. This dynamic means that people will wait longer periods of time for your page to load before leaving (five seconds versus three for desktops), but you’re working with similar difficulties. By keeping the content as minimal as possible and pinging links only when truly necessary, you’ll improve loading times and ensure fewer customers bounce. Weirdly enough, many shoppers prefer to be introduced to products with a short video than through text – most likely a result of small screens making it harder to read while on the go.