Optimised website and form design: The future of mobile

As the number of global smartphone users reaches almost 1.8 billion (eMarketer ’14), online retail is no longer reliant on the desktop computer. Currently 65% of Australians own a Smartphone, yet 40% of online businesses  do NOT have an optimised website for mobile. Many attribute failing UX to the low conversion rates on smartphone devices, and as consumer behaviour outpaces many businesses adoption of a mobile sites, many sites will be losing out on sales.

While the optimisation of your mobile site is an important step in the right direction, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Almost every e-commerce business requires a form to be completed to complete a purchase. Whether this is for creating an account or adding personal and shipping details; the user experience is often long and complicated, with many customers deciding to use a desktop or tablet to finalise their transaction.  

Online shopping in Australia hit 50% for the first time back in June of this year, and as smartphone ownership continues to grow, investing in an optimised mobile site with humanised form design is going to give your e-commerce business the competitive edge for the future.

The user experience on health.com.au quote form is simple, intuitive and logical. With both the mobile and desktop sites following the same form design. If you can get this right, your customers will keep coming back.

There are still a number of traps that the web development industry still fall into. Ineffective fieldsets; convoluted legends;  and confusing labels are a sure-fire way to disappoint your customer and lose an opportunity for conversion.

Making the decision to NOT optimise your mobile website and form design, is like deciding to purchase your Mercedes C63 without a supercharger, it’s going to be ok, but why have ok, when you can have awesome streamlined design with epic performance?