Optimización del Dashboard para Dispositivos Móviles en Looker Studio

Optimizing dashboards for mobile devices is a growing necessity in today's business world. When managers need to consult data while on the move, having visualizations adapted to small screens becomes crucial for effective decision making. In Looker Studio, although there is no native mobile view feature, it is possible to implement practical solutions that enable an optimal user experience on any device.

How to adapt a Looker Studio dashboard for mobile devices?

When Freshmark managers try to query their dashboard from a cell phone, they encounter distorted visualizations that make data analysis difficult. Unlike other tools such as Power BI, Looker Studio does not offer an automatic mobile view option, but that doesn't mean we can't create an effective solution.

The strategy is to generate new pages specifically designed for mobile viewing by following these steps:

1. Create a new page dedicated to mobile view.
2. Configure the right dimensions for phone screens.
3. Select and adapt only the most relevant displays.
4. Optimize elements to improve readability on small screens.

Configuring the page for mobile viewing

The first step is to create a page specifically for mobile devices:

1. Go to "Pages" and select "New page".
2. Using "Manage pages", assign a descriptive name such as "Mobile sales".
3. Change the icon for easy identification, ideally using one related to mobile devices.

Dimension settings are crucial for proper display. To do this:

1. Access "Current page settings".
2. In the "Style" tab, set a width of 720 pixels.
3. Keep the default height of 1280 pixels.

This ratio better simulates a cell phone screen, facilitating adaptive design.

Selecting and adapting key displays

Not all visualizations are necessary in a mobile environment. It is important to select only those that users really need to consult while on the move:

1. Identify essential charts and graphs (such as means of payment or stock alerts).
2. Copy these displays to the new mobile page.
3. Adjust each element so that it occupies the full available width of the screen.

To optimize data tables:

1. Remove non-essential columns (such as vendor names).
2. Disable decorative elements such as row numbers.
3. Adjust column sizes to improve readability.

Improving readability with style adjustments

Font size is critical for usability on mobile devices:

1. Increase the size of headings to 20 points.
2. Increase the size of labels to 20 points.
3. Adjust text size in rows and columns to ensure readability.

For interactive filters:

1. Increase the size of controls to 20-24 points.
2. Ensure that interactive elements are large enough to manipulate with the finger.

// Example of recommended sizes for mobileTitles: 20-24pxLabels: 20pxFilter text: 20-24px

Filter optimization and navigation

Period filters are especially useful in mobile environments:

1. Add period dimensions in visualizations.
2. Set default date filters for recent periods (day, week or month).
3. Ensure that filter controls are accessible and easy to manipulate.

To maximize available space:

1. Access "Theme & Layout".
2. In the "Design" tab, change the navigation type from "Left" to "Hidden".

This setting eliminates the side page selector, taking advantage of the full width of the screen for visualizations.

What additional considerations should we have for mobile dashboards?

When designing dashboards for mobile devices, it is important to consider:

1. Performance: Eliminate decorative elements such as background images to optimize loading.
2. Relevance: Include only the critical information that users need to see on the go.
3. Simplicity: Reduce visual complexity to facilitate quick interpretation of data.
4. Interactivity: Ensure that interactive elements are easy to manipulate on touch screens.

Creating mobile views in Looker Studio allows managers and other users to access critical information from anywhere, significantly improving real-time decision making. Although it requires additional design work, the benefits in terms of accessibility and usability are substantial for any organization that relies on data for its daily operations.

Have you ever adapted your dashboards for mobile devices? We invite you to share your experiences and screenshots in the comments to continue learning together about best practices in data visualization.