There are about 220 million internet users in the US, and 56 million of them use a tablet. That’s over a quarter of internet users who are likely to come across your site while browsing on a tablet. And they’re not just any quarter:

• Tablet users fall overwhelmingly between the ages of 25 and 44
• The majority of tablet users earn over $75,000 a year
• Tablet users are just slightly (52%) more likely to be female than male
• They make online purchases as often as laptop/desktop users do, and they spend more on each purchase

All of these factors add up to mean that tablet users matter—they have financial independence, buying power, and they’re comfortable with online purchases; however you monetize your blog, you should make them a part of your strategy. Here are a few easy ways to bring them in and keep them.

Consider mobile-first web design

If you’re just starting out or considering a design overhaul, one of the best ways to make your design universally-accessible is to start from the most limiting, constrained format—and that means mobile phones. If you start from the assumption that the portions of your website that matter to revenue should be accessible on a small mobile display with a touchscreen, tablet users (and even desktop/laptop users) will benefit from the efficient, pared down interface you create. It’s much easier to embellish a tightly-designed site than it is to trim back an overloaded one.

Check out Mozilla’s front page—it provides access to their most important services without clutter, and it’s just as easy to use on a smartphone as it is on a laptop.

Create a mobile version of your site

This is a surprisingly simple option that allows you to maintain browser-sized content on your main page without alienating mobile or tablet users. If you can distill your site’s main interface down to the elements that are most attractive to users, and that you most want them to click, it’s easy to make the rest of their experience tablet-friendly using adaptive CSS (see below).

Stay within 1000px

This is one of the easiest ways to improve your site’s tablet compatibility, because one of the most frustrating experiences on a tablet is having to zoom in on a page and swipe around to click links or read text. While it’s not a cover-all fix, this will make any other tweaks for tablet compatibility a whole lot easier.

Space your links and text boxes

If you don’t want to create an independent mobile version of your site, just make sure to give all your links and text boxes plenty of breathing room—a touchscreen is to a mouse what a backhoe is to a scalpel, so help your users avoid the obnoxious experience of clicking three different links before they get the one they want.

Check out adaptive CSS

Adaptive CSS changes what users see based on their device’s display resolution, orientation, and size. It’s a great way to avoid portrait/landscape headaches (where the text is illegible in portrait mode, or crowded on one side of the screen in landscape mode), and to create content that is legible on 3-inch smartphone without being spare or overwhelming on 14-inch laptops.

Consider creating an app

This doesn’t mean requiring an app to access your site’s tablet-friendly version—if users have to access your separate app to visit your site, they’ll simply avoid it—but if you can think of some useful niche you can fill in app design, it can be a huge boon to your tablet traffic. While the market is increasingly flooded with smartphone apps, tablet users are hungry for new content—a lack of dedicated tablet apps is one of prospective tablet users’ biggest reservations about buying one.

 

Patricia Shuler is a BBGeeks.com staff writer from Oakland, California. She’s an admitted tech-junkie who’s quick to share her honest opinion on all things consumer electronic—including up-to-date news, user reviews, and “no holds barred” opinions on a variety of social media, tech, computer, and mobile accessories topics.