Long web pages that require scrolling on mobile devices is actually a very common practice. Longer scrolling web pages is more of a norm, generally acceptable and as it is a common design trend which actually works well for mobile-friendly websites. Logically web pages are forced to be longer mobile devices than they pages are on desktops due to the smaller screen size.
However, when designing a website it’s important to keep in mind some considerations and tips to ensure a positive user experience:
- Content organization: Structure your content in a logical and organized manner, using headings, subheadings, and appropriate formatting. This helps users navigate through the content easily, especially on long pages.
- Clear and concise information: Make sure your content is concise, engaging, and delivers the necessary information effectively. Long pages should be engaging enough to retain user interest.
- Performance optimization: Ensure your web page loads quickly, as long pages with large images (that were optimized for desktop but not mobile) can negatively affect loading times. Optimize images, use lazy loading techniques, and minimize the use of scripts to maintain optimal performance.
- Mobile responsiveness: Design your web page to be responsive and adapt to different screen sizes. Test your page on various mobile devices and ensure that the scrolling behavior and layout remain smooth and consistent.
- Navigation and back-to-top buttons: Include a clear navigation menu or anchor links within the page, allowing users to jump to specific sections easily. Additionally, consider incorporating a “back-to-top” button to help users quickly return to the beginning of the page.
- Consider progressive disclosure: If you have a substantial amount of content, consider implementing progressive disclosure techniques. This involves breaking up content into collapsible sections or implementing an expandable “read more” feature to present information in a more digestible format. This technique works very well for an FAQ section.
The Importance of Your Home Page
The home page of your website is your most important page! Therefore your website designer should put in extra work into making sure that mobile page performs well. Often a desktop display will show large images or an animation of large images. Those images need to be drastic reduced in size and optimized for the mobile display.
User Experience
Remember to prioritize user experience and make it easy for visitors to consume your content, regardless of the length of the page. Regular testing, feedback, and optimization based on user behavior can help you fine-tune your long web pages for optimal engagement and usability. When creating longer pages make sure to break up those walls of text with graphics, videos or photos to help keep your visitors engaged. If the content is not organized well or is difficult to navigate, users may not stay on the page or return to your website in the future.
Ultimately, the goal of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should be to provide valuable information to users, be attractive enough to keep engagement and if a longer page accomplishes that, it can have a very positive impact on your rankings. So as in most things – quality matters!
What is Mobile – First?
The phrase “mobile-first” was made popular thanks to Google and their recognition that mobile phone sales and usage of the internet was skyrocketing. Google SEO mobile-first refers to the practice of Google indexing and ranking websites based on their mobile version content instead of their desktop version content. This means that Google crawls and indexes the mobile version of a website first, and uses that content to determine its search engine rankings and visibility. Mobile–first indexing is enabled by default for all new websites according to the search engine giant.
Mobile-first indexing was introduced due to the significant increase of mobile device usage for web browsing and online searches. As a result, Google realized that their search engine results needed to reflect the mobile user’s experience and prioritize content that was optimized for mobile devices.
To optimize for mobile-first indexing, webmasters should ensure that their mobile site is responsive and optimized for mobile device usage. This includes factors such as mobile-friendly design, fast load times, accessible content, and easy navigation.
It’s important to note that while mobile-first indexing is a significant shift in Google’s ranking algorithm, it doesn’t mean that desktop content is ignored entirely. Google still considers both mobile and desktop versions of a website for ranking purposes, but mobile-first indexing reflects the increasing importance of mobile browsing and the need for strong mobile optimization.
Mobile phone usage of websites has grown significantly in recent years.
Here are some key factors contributing to the growth of mobile phone usage:
1. Increasing affordability of smartphones: The cost of smartphones has decreased significantly over time, making them more accessible to people. This has led to a rise in smartphone ownership, especially in developing countries.
2. Changes in user behavior: Consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to browse and shop online, instead of desktops or laptops. This shift is due to the convenience and accessibility of using a mobile device, and the ability to access the internet from anywhere.
3. Improvements in mobile technology: Mobile technology has improved significantly over time, making it easier to browse the internet on mobile devices. Faster data connections, larger screens, and more powerful processors have all contributed to the growth of mobile website usage.
4. Mobile-first indexing: As mentioned earlier, Google’s shift towards mobile-first indexing has forced businesses to optimize their websites for mobile devices to ensure they rank well in search results.
Overall, the growth of mobile phone usage has significantly impacted the online industry, and businesses have had to pivot their marketing strategies to cater to mobile users.
Here are some stats on mobile phone sales and internet usage over the last 5 years:
1. Mobile phone sales:
– In 2016, there were 1.5 billion smartphones sold worldwide.
– In 2017, there were 1.5 billion smartphones sold worldwide.
– In 2018, there were 1.4 billion smartphones sold worldwide.
– In 2019, there were 1.5 billion smartphones sold worldwide.
– In 2020, there were 1.3 billion smartphones sold worldwide.
(Source: Statista)
2. Internet usage:
– In 2016, there were 3.42 billion internet users worldwide, and 39% of internet users accessed the internet solely through mobile devices.
– In 2017, there were 3.58 billion internet users worldwide, and 50.3% of internet traffic came from mobile devices.
– In 2018, there were 4 billion internet users worldwide, and 52.2% of internet traffic came from mobile devices.
– In 2019, there were 4.4 billion internet users worldwide, and 53.3% of internet traffic came from mobile devices.
– In 2020, there were 4.66 billion internet users worldwide, and 53.3% of internet traffic came from mobile devices.
Resources:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/306528/share-of-mobile-internet-traffic-in-global-regions/
These stats highlight the significant growth of mobile phone usage and internet traffic driven by mobile devices over the past few years, and suggest that mobile optimization is crucial for businesses seeking to reach their target audience online. That being said there are still plenty of businesses whose users primarily view their website using desktops and laptops. That’s why its important to study your website traffic to understand your web traffic and how your website is being seen. If you traffic is mostly mobile then you would want to devote extra attention and focus on optimizing your website for mobile devices.
WordPress Responsive Design for Mobile
According to some estimates, WordPress was powering around 8% of all websites in existence in 2011. Today, WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world, with an estimated 40% market share. As of August 2021, there are over 1.9 billion websites in existence, and it’s estimated that WordPress powers over 455 million of them. Cymax Media has been working and and designing WordPress websites for about 12 years. WordPress really “took off” with the advent of mobile phone adoption as millions of users starting viewing the web on their smart phones.
With the smart phone revolution it became increasingly important for websites to display correctly and be easily navigable on smaller screens. In 2010, Ethan Marcotte introduced the concept of responsive web design; a design technique that allows websites to adapt to different devices and screen sizes automatically. This approach became popular, and many designers and developers started implementing responsive design on their websites.
WordPress quickly recognized the need for responsive design and started incorporating it into their platform. In 2011, the first responsive WordPress theme, called Twenty Eleven, was released. Since then, all the default WordPress themes have been responsive, and the platform itself has been optimized for responsiveness. WordPress has also released several tools and features to help theme developers create responsive designs. For instance, the WordPress Customizer allows developers to preview their theme on different devices and screen sizes, making it easier to optimize for responsiveness. In summary, WordPress became focused on responsive technology due to the growing prevalence of mobile devices and the increasing demand for websites to be easily accessible and navigable on various devices. The platform embraced responsive design early on and has continued to evolve to support responsive development.
The growth of WordPress over the past decade has been significant, and it is likely that the platform will continue to be a dominant force in web development and content management for the foreseeable future.
So yes! It is quite OK to Have Long Scrolling Website Pages on Mobile Phones!
