The Rise Of Tablet Devices

By now you should be able to comprehend how important it is to have a mobile version of your desktop website, but what about tablets?

These devices are gaining popularity at breakneck pace and in many households, they have already replaced desktop computers, laptops and TVs. Compared to other devices, laptop are lightweight and easy to carry around. They are the perfect tools for people, who are constantly on the run. 

Tablets are mostly used for:

• Entertainment
• Online shopping
• Visiting news websites and blogs
• Social media

Unlike some mobile phones, tablets are often Wi-Fi and 3G compatible. To optimize your desktop website for a tablet, you need to make it simpler and improve the page load time.

Other things to consider:

• Having a mobile website is an advantage, in case some of your customers use iPads to visit your website. You should remember that the iPad does not support Flash. If you have used any Flash content on your desktop website, you need to redirect the iPad users to the mobile version of your website, otherwise they might have problems with viewing your website. You should also consider HTML5 as the main standard for your website.
• If you run an online store, create an application, which allows shoppers to view your products in just one click. Applications are also great for storing all information in one place. They also increase the customer experience, because applications take a lot less time to load than websites and use a simplified payment system. The only disadvantage of applications is that they are not listed on the Google search result page.
• If your website is filled with tons of information, it may hamper browsing and scrolling down. To avoid the problem, use "Previous" and "Next" buttons to simplify the navigation.

Optimize your website for tablets

The following alterations should help you optimize your website for tablets:

1. Change your CSS to avoid duplicating content and optimize the website for easy viewing on a tablet.

2. Remove all Flash content. Make sure that the tablet users are redirected to a tablet-optimized version of your website.

3. Instead of difficult to scroll design and website overstuffed with too much information, use pagination and "Back" and "Forward” buttons.

4. Consider creating an application for your e-commerce business.

5. Improve user registration system by adding functionalities such as cookies, postal code recognition and PayPal payments.

6. Use HTML5 and CSS3 to create horizontal navigation and scrolling. This way you can put all essential content on a single page.

7. Use CSS to increase the size of buttons on your website and make them more noticeable. Make sure that the website is attractive and user friendly.

8. Create downloadable content. Provide your customers with PDF files, which can be downloaded by shoppers and saved for later. 

9. Keep in mind the viewing requirements of different platforms: smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. Consider these requirements when you are designing your website.

10. Test and analyze everything! Make sure that your website increases customer satisfaction.

Mobile devices are becoming smaller and smaller, but search options are constantly increasing. Today we can apply features, such as instant purchase, social media sharing, mobile site indexing etc. We can also use applications, which redirect potential customers to the online store, increasing the conversion rates.

It is no surprise and no secret that we are leaving desktop computers behind in favor of mobile devices. Is your website ready for this?

Marta Gromadzka is a writer and editor with a wide variety of experience, including writing for websites internationally and editing books on many different subjects and in a variety of formats.

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License: Creative Commons image source