Sometimes, when listeners visit your radio station’s website, they do so using desktop or laptop computers; sometimes they do so using mobile devices, like a phone or tablet. Do not treat these two groups of visitors the same. The key to creating a compelling web experience for visitors is to tailor it to them as much as possible.
Fortunately, your website can display differently depending on the operating system and screen size of the visitor. Here are three key differences that should exist between your radio station’s desktop site and its mobile site.
1. Website Layout
When we use the phrase “mobile responsive website,” what we typically mean is that the look of the website is different depending on the device that is being used to view it. If your site is not mobile responsive, visitors will have to pinch and zoom to read it, which is an unpleasant experience. The mobile version of your website should make certain aesthetic choices that make the site easy to use on a small screen, such as collapsing the main navigation into a “hamburger menu,” or pushing the sidebar down below the main content.
2. The Prominence of Your Station’s Mobile App
When people visit your radio station’s website on a desktop or laptop, they cannot download your mobile app from the app store. Links to the app can be minimized or removed from this version of the site.
However, when people are visiting your site on a mobile device, driving them to download the app is one of the most important things you can do. By getting them to download the app to their smartphone, you increase the chances that they will regularly listen to your station. On the mobile version of your site, put this call to action front and center.
3. The Information You Collect
It’s easier to fill out a long form when you have a keyboard in front of you than it is when you are tapping away with your thumb on a smartphone. A long form is much more likely to deter people from filling it out on a smartphone. So on the mobile version of your website, make any forms, such as contest entry forms or email club registration forms, as short as possible. If possible, collect only the visitor’s email address. After all, if they give you their email address, you can always email them later to collect more information; but if they abandon the form altogether, you have no way of reaching them again. An email address is better than nothing.
Pay Attention to the Data
When you review the Google Analytics data for your radio station’s website, look for differences between the way mobile visitors and desktop visitors behave. Mobile visitors are likely to spend less time on the site and bounce more often; this is a natural difference between people who visit your site while on their work computer and people who visit your site on their phone while waiting in line at Starbucks.
There may be other differences as well. For example, are people coming to your website through different channels when they’re on their phones? Perhaps they are more likely to come through social media or less likely to come through search engines. Are they more likely to take certain actions, such as streaming the station, and less likely to take others, such as purchasing merch? Pay close attention and use the data you gather to create a better experience for your mobile visitors.
Not all website visitors are the same. Use what you know about your website visitors to provide a better user experience, and they are more likely to return.
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This is such an important thing to realize Seth, thanks for the article. I wonder if web designers (like my son) aren’t taught this in their training? Easier yet, look at your website on a desktop and then on your phone (maybe several phones) and see the difference. Things are a little more complicated with digital and online marketing but a little common sense and attention to detail can avoid the pitfalls in our digital world.
I don’t know, you’ll have to ask your son.
When we run website usability tests, we usually run them on desktop versions of the sites only. It’s harder to run them on the mobile versions — especially during a pandemic since you really need to be looking over the shoulder of the tester — but it’s important.