Mobile computing has been on the rise for several years and as smartphones and tablets improve and extend their reach, it’s vital that your business keep pace. The unique nature of mobile platforms, however, means that designing a great website isn’t going to be enough to successfully reach your audience. No, you need to play by the highly specific rules of mobile optimization.

Are you ready to extend your reach? Here’s what you need to know about going mobile.

Go Big

Mobile devices are typically smaller than a standard computer screen, and this can make it much harder to read small fonts or click tiny buttons. When you’re building a mobile site, increase your font sizes and make sure your buttons aren’t too small for easy touch navigation. Building your website too small will discourage people from engaging simply because it is inconvenient and hard on the eyes.

Integrate Your Space

It used to be the case that companies would build one desktop version of their site and one mobile version that you could redirect to. This is not advisable. The rules for web searches will demote your site if it isn’t fully responsive. The best approach is always to integrate your mobile and desktop sites into one page.

Don’t Ignore Back End Design

Sales teams are using mobile devices more and more as of late and that means parts of your site only accessible to employees also need to be set up for mobile navigation. It’s easy to overlook this step in a narrow attempt to serve your customers, but your employees are an important part of your business presence. If they can’t easily use your mobile interface, it will be harder for them to present a positive face for your company.

Create Return Customers

Because so much computing is done on mobile devices these days, it’s reasonable to believe that most people will encounter your site first on a mobile device. But most people prefer to shop and perform end-stage transactions on a standard computer. In order to get users to return to your site on their desktops, you have to give them a great mobile experience. Users who have a positive mobile site experience are more likely than others to return via desktop.

Consult The Professionals

There are a lot of rules to mobile optimization and if you want to figure well in search results you’ll need to conform to all of them. For small businesses with restricted resources or limited tech knowledge, this can be too big of a challenge. In these cases it makes sense to use a professional for your site design. This allows you to focus on the rest of your business while ensuring a more polished outcome.

Running a business today requires great mobile site design.The sooner you engage this challenge fully, the sooner customers will start pouring in. But don’t get too comfortable – just like smartphones and tablets, the rules continue to be on the move. Don’t fall behind.