It’s likely that practically everyone you know owns a smartphone, so having a mobile-friendly website is no longer a ‘bonus’. Have you checked recently to see how good, or not, your website is on mobile devices? This guide will walk you through the five most overlooked issues that plague websites to help you ensure your website is mobile-friendly.
The five telltale signs that tell you your website needs a mobile-friendly makeover
1. Poor user experience on mobile
If you have to pinch and zoom a lot or furiously scroll, then your website is offering a poor user experience on mobile. A responsive website will adapt to various different screen sizes, keeping your audience on your site rather than going to a competitor who’s taken the time to make their site mobile-friendly.
2. Declining visitor numbers using mobile devices
Take a look at your analytics and monitor your mobile traffic. If you experience a decline in the percentage of users who visit your site on a mobile device, then that’s a sure sign you have a problem.
3. Poor search engine rankings on mobile
Mobile-first indexing is Google's benchmark for how it ranks your site. If your website is not properly optimised for smartphones, then Google will punish you for it by dropping your site from the search rankings. The lower you are, the fewer people are likely to find you. It’s a negative spiral that must be addressed.
4. High bounce rate on mobile
Examine user behaviour and see where your visitors are bouncing away from you. Perhaps you have a particular page or poor navigation that’s leading users to disengage with your site.
5. Feedback from smartphone users
Listen to your audience and ask them for feedback on their experiences using your site on a smartphone. The more data you can gather, the more likely it is that you can spot patterns and highlight areas that need to be targeted for rapid improvement.
Mobile-Friendly is here to stay.
Mobile and smartphone trends will evolve, of course, but for the foreseeable future, they will be the device of choice for the majority of visitors to your site.
Mobile optimisation is hugely important when it comes to SEO, as Google's algorithm favours mobile-friendly websites, which in turn leads to higher search rankings, increased traffic, and increased revenue.
A'mobile-first' approach is key to ensuring that your website automatically adjusts to a user’s device. Be sure also to optimise any images and video, utilise browser caching, and minimise code wherever possible to get your site running as speedily as possible on mobile devices. Google's PageSpeed Insights can be a huge help.
Simplify your website’s navigation for mobile users. Employ big buttons, use legible fonts, and streamline your content. Regularly test your website on different devices and browsers to make sure it offers a consistent experience for every user. BrowserStack is a tool that can really help here.
Ignoring the five signs above will really harm your site, so be sure to address them at the earliest opportunity and turn the steady trickle of smartphone users to your site into a surging river.
