When we think of “mobile optimization,” many of us naturally think of a crowded room full of users tapping away at their smartphones.
However, modern bloggers and designers should take the booming tablet market into consideration when it comes to optimizing their sites. Tablets already represent a huge chunk of the mobile marketplace and are expected to grow to 1.43 billion users by 2018, so ask yourself: what is your site doing to appeal to such users?
If your answer is “nothing,” fear not. While there is a difference between optimizing for smartphones and tablets, thankfully you can easily tweak your site’s design for mobile users without changing too much.
These small touches, however, can have a big impact on your readership. In his in-depth guide to starting a blog, marketing guru Neil Patel notes that need give your audience exactly what they want. Given today’s massive mobile audience, consider how your blog can give tablet users what they want by making some simple adjustments to your site.
Bigger is Better
When it comes to tablets, size matters in regard to readability and functionality. Consider increasing the size of headers and buttons on your blog, ensuing that readers on tablets can easily navigate your website without becoming frustrated. For example…
- Small buttons can lead to users either accidentally tapping onto the wrong section of your site or leave them unable to find what they’re looking for altogether
- Small fonts could cause readers to skip over a post or potentially miss a call-to-action
- At first glance, tablet users could get a bad taste in their mouths by seeing your site isn’t optimized for mobile, essentially causing them to bounce
Readability should be a top priority for mobile optimization; therefore, make sure your site’s content and navigation are coming in loud and clear for your visitors via tablet.
Decide Your Design
The explosion of responsible design for WordPress has given bloggers a myriad of options to build a sleek, eye-catching site.
Regarding mobile devices, however, the debate of infinite scrolling versus pagination rears its head. Both have become cornerstones of modern web design; however, they have their inherent advantages and disadvantages for tablet users.
For example, infinite scrolling feels extremely natural for tablet users who can simply browse a site without stopping. Conversely, such a design can be frustrating if you’re trying to scroll back to a specific page without some sort of sitemap.
Meanwhile, pagination gives users more control of the sites they browse as they can easily navigate and understand where they’re going and where they’ve been. Such design is more “traditional,” however, and perhaps less intuitive on tablets versus an infinite scrolling site.
In the end, choosing a design really depends on the focus of your site. Look around at other influencers in your space to see what they’re doing if you can’t come to a consensus on your own.
No More Tedious Typing
Perhaps the subtlest yet sensible way to optimize your site for tablets is to turn off autocorrect on your site’s form fields. While this may seem like an incredibly simple tip, consider the fact that tablet users are incredibly hungry when it comes to browsing and buying products online. Turning off autocorrect allows them to enter their email or contact information without being constantly interrupted.
Tablet users aren’t so different from traditional web or mobile users; however, the growing presence of tablets emphasizes the need for modern bloggers to adapt. By optimizing your site for readers on tablets, you can ensure your site looks good to all readers, regardless of whether or not they’re on-the-go.
