Does Your Website Design Work on Mobile Devices?

Have you ever been surfing on your mobile phone and stumbled across a website that was difficult to navigate? A clunky website can completely ruin your online interaction with a customer from the very onset, and prevent customers from learning more about or purchasing your products or services.

More and more consumers now expect to see websites that are mobile-friendly. Adding to this is the fact that Google has added a label on search results that identifies mobile-friendly websites, making users more apt to click on your site if they see your website works with their mobile device.

Criteria for ‘mobile-friendly’ sites

Being “mobile-friendly” means more than your website simply appearing on the screen of a mobile phone or handheld device. You want your website to fit comfortably on a mobile screen no matter what size that screen may be, so—ideally—you’ll want your website to use responsive web design to fit every screen is appears on. Mobile-friendly sites have buttons, icons and copy that are easy to see and touch on a smaller screen. According to Google, a page is eligible for a mobile-friendly label based on these criteria:

• Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
• Uses text that is readable without zooming
• Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
• Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped

If you’re wondering if your website design is mobile-friendly or not, you can take Google’s handy “Mobile Friendly Test.” Just input your website’s URL, and the test will let you know if your design is mobile-friendly or not (and what you can do to fix this).

What if you find out that your website is not mobile-friendly?

If your site doesn’t pass the test, you may have to work with a website developer to update your website to be mobile-friendly.

First, ask what the website developer has done in the past to transition a desktop site to a responsive site. Then, review the developer’s previous web design work and reviews. A good developer will understand what your customer experience should be, and be familiar with SEO and Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

If you’re just not sure where to start with identifying whether or not your site is mobile-friendly, or need help with your next steps, contact Skyfall Blue for a complete website assessment.