Three basic rules for mobile user experience: 1. test, 2. test, 3. test again

Too many mobile sites, apps and campaigns are ruined by the smallest things, things that are easy to spot and are probably easy and cheap to fix. These little things are a big turn off to your customer, making them feel unwelcome and making it unnecessarily difficult for them to buy your product. So why is this? Are companies not test-driving their new shiny mobile initiative or do they just not care if it works properly?

It’s the little things, such as greeting Android users when they arrive at the mobile site with an invitation to download the site to their iPhone; or buttons with imprecise tap zones that open the wrong link; or out of date security certificates. mobiThinking experienced all of these on an expensive m-commerce site that was up for an award. As a Judge, it would be unethical to name and shame the site… but it is not necessarily to do so – similar experiences are available on thousands of other mobile sites.

We’re not alone in this line of thinking:

“It’s incredible, pretty much all mobile sites that you see today have the kind of errors that if occurred on the same client’s PC site would be unacceptable and the CTO or marketing director would have the Web developers up all night getting it fixed, and yet in mobile they seem content to let it pass! My advice; if the developers can’t fix it, you’ve got the wrong developers!” says Phillip Clement of UK-based mobile agency Bemoko.

The problem, in mobiThinking’s belief, is lack of awareness rather than carelessness. Companies simply aren’t testing their mobile sites rigorously enough. This need not involve expensive user experience consultants. Ask your employees to help or your customers – between them they will have most of the handsets that matter. Offer them a 25 percent discount to anyone who tries out the site and offers feedback on user experience. After all, you should be offering a big discount to help promote your new mobile site/app etc anyway – so where’s the loss? Plus it’s a great opportunity to make everyone feel wanted, useful and part of the family.

And when you receive the feedback, investigate it and, if necessary, have the developers up all night fixing it.

The three basic rules for mobile user experience:
1. test,
2. test,
3. test again.

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