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82% of online shoppers use mobile or tablet devices. Selecting a Shopify template that uses the latest responsive technologies will make an impact on consumer experience as well as your bottom line. The ease of access that mobile eCommerce has is important, customers need to be able to navigate and select what they desire without delay or issue. These mobile eCommerce statistics discuss this further and show what the impact has been as eCommerce websites move to smartphones for customers to use wherever they are.

Your online store is the face of your brand

Design matters. It should make your customers feel welcome and encourage them to explore the many products you offer. However, that design doesn’t have to come at a price. Because there are several free single product shopify themes to choose from. You should customize it to make it fast, easy to navigate, and overall easy to use.

When considering a template:

• Think Mobile First: when you are in the design stages of your eCommerce site, design the mobile version first. One great prototype tool to use is InVision
• Ease of Navigation is Key: the website menu on a desktop is usually visual; on mobile, it’s not. Remember, everyone loves hamburgers!
• Optimize Your Images: this is arguably the most important tip in responsive design. Use tools like TinyJPG and Image Compressor to reduce file size while keeping vibrant images

Functionalities that are a must:

• Sticky and mega menus
• Ajax shopping cart
• Product owl carousel
• Quick Shop & Cloud zoom
• Ajax product filters
• Wishlist and product compare features
• Lazy image load, grid and list view
• SEO optimization

Tools to verify speed and mobile use:

• Mobile Friendly Test by Google: it’s the most popular and easy to use. Just enter your URL, click Analyze and Google will tell you what your website needs to improve.
• Screenfly: it will show you how your website looks on different screen sizes. It doesn’t provide suggestions but allows you to choose from various mobile and tablet models.
• MobileTest.me: as an emulator, it allows you to choose a mobile device and interact with your site as if you’re on that specific device. Test every button and link and experience how your visitors will use your website.

By 2021, mobile shopping is predicted to dominate online sales, driving 54% of all sales. Don’t be left sitting at your desktop wondering where your sales went.

To read more tips and techniques from the staff at Engage121, please visit our blog here. For more information about our eCommerce Accelerator™ or to subscribe to our weekly digital marketing tips newsletter please sign-up here.

About the Author
As Engage121’s Senior Applications Developer, Michael brings 20+ years of creative and technical experience in design, programming and project management. When left unsupervised, he’s been known to leave some creative Easter eggs in our applications and marketing materials.