As more people use smartphones or tablets to search for information at home and work, it’s important to create mobile-friendly marketing materials. A highly informative blog post or web page may appear normal on a computer screen but may look like a lot of work on a mobile. Check out these eight tips when creating any online content.

1. Whitespace is your friend.

Busy backgrounds can be difficult to view on a small mobile screen. Too much going on in the background can also make a screen look like work to read.

Make sure there's plenty of empty space around the text and in between paragraphs. 

2. Breakup text with visuals.

Images make the text interesting and they should contribute to the text.

Be careful when using visuals to choose the right size or an adaptable image.  If the visual you are using forces the user to move the screen side to side and up and down it creates a frustrating user experience.

3. Use subheads.

Many people skim information when online. This is especially true for mobile screens. The use of subheads makes it easy to stop someone who is scrolling for specific information.

4. Use short paragraphs and sentences.

While many responsive themes adapt the text to fill the screen properly, long sentences or paragraphs look like work to read. Short sentences make you think deeply about the content you're sharing.

5. Link to relevant content

You want to guide any user through your website or marketing material.

Don’t use too many links. No one wants to load seven different pages to access a particular piece of content. This is a poor user experience, especially during high traffic times or in poor reception areas.

6. Quick loading

This could mean using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), Facebook Instant Articles or investing in a server that guarantees quick load times. When on a mobile device, people won’t wait long. If your content loads slowly people will navigate away from your website.

7. Easy contact option

If you have a phone number people can call, make it obvious and near the top of the page. Most mobile devices can use click-to-call technology. For this reason, don’t use letters in your listed phone number. People can’t use one tap to dial that number.

8. Easy Email Capture

No matter how great your website content is, if you can’t reconnect to people who visit, you can’t build a relationship or sell to them. Make sure your pop-ups or sign-up options are easy to use on a mobile device. They shouldn't be overly disruptive either.

​Overall, to make content friendly for mobile, keep the reader in mind. This creates a positive user experience on your site that keeps them coming back.

​Once your content looks fantastic on a mobile screen, you can start sharing the resource with people, especially at live events. It's one of the key steps to landing more sales. Discover all five steps in this checklist.