Wondering how to make sure your website is mobile-friendly well? How many of your website visitors do you think are accessing your content from their smartphones? It may be a lot more than you think. Have you optimised your website for mobile users?
Mobile-friendly website optimisation is the practice of improving your website’s mobile experience so it can rank high across search engines. This application is different from optimising a standard desktop site, so it requires careful attention to detail.
Read on as our team at Perth Digital Edge walks you through everything you should know about making your website mobile-friendly.
Why & How to Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly
In a world where more people own smartphones than laptops or desktops, learning to make a website mobile-friendly is more important than ever. More than half of all internet traffic originates from a mobile device.
If you want your business to be seen in today’s overly competitive digital marketplace, achieving a high ranking in the SERPs (search engine results pages) on Google should be a top priority. Google currently holds about 92% of the global search market, and your website’s mobile compatibility is a critical factor the search engine algorithm uses to determine your SERP ranking.
If you don’t optimise your website for mobile users, your chances of snagging a high ranking are slim. So if your site isn’t utilising effective SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques and a responsive, mobile-optimised design, you’re losing out on traffic, leads, conversions, new customers, sales, growth—and ultimately, profits.
Six Steps to a Mobile-Friendly Website
Here are six quick tips on how to make a website mobile-friendly.
Start With a Responsive Design Template
Building a responsive website is the key to having a mobile-friendly website. What does this mean?
A responsive website:
- Automatically adjusts screen sizes to adapt to each user’s specific mobile device without rendering problems
- Fits both mobile devices and desktops by resizing or rearranging content
- Improves the SEO value of your site and boosts your SERP ranking
- Allows your website to become mobile-friendly without sacrificing any original content
Improve Readability
Overall readability is one area where many websites fall short, particularly for mobile users. Many mobile users are impatient and have no qualms over pressing the back button and abandoning your site if it’s not easy to navigate and read.
Readability can refer to layout issues or to writing style. To improve the readability of your website’s design and layout:
- Choose a simple font in a large size
- Use heading tags
- Keep paragraphs short
- Remember to avoid crowding by using generous white space
- Opt for lightweight menus
For improved readability in writing, avoid long, entangled sentences. Keep words simple and short. Write to an 8th-grade reading level for most web material. Use frequent bullet lists.
Improve Loading Times
For a relevant and high-ranking mobile website, one of your top priorities should be improving page-loading times. A lightning-quick mobile site will always be easier to view and navigate (thus rank higher) than one lacking optimisation or using an outdated interface.
Here’s how you can improve page-load times:
- Avoid using too many plugins
- Double-check code for accuracy
- Reduce the number of server re-directs
- Enable web caching
- Optimise and compress images for smaller sizes without lowering quality
- Embed videos and use a lightweight player
Use HTML5 Instead of Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash first came onto the scene in 1996, but 20 years later, it’s nearly obsolete. Adobe ended support for Flash at the end of 2020, so people using mobile devices cannot interact with or even see Flash content on a website.
Instead of using Flash, try HTML5, which requires less processing power than Flash and is superior to Flash in virtually every way. HTML5 is:
- 100% free
- Fully supported by mobile devices
- Fully compatible with SEO techniques
HTML5 also receives native support from every web browser (i.e., Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.).
Make the Mobile Experience Easy to Navigate
These days, it seems like Apple releases a new iPhone every week. Although technology is constantly accelerating, not everybody can afford to keep up. In light of this, most people still use older, more affordable technology, so your mobile site should be simple and easily navigable.
For example, you should avoid using an intricate, complex website design. Instead, go for a simple yet visually pleasing design that highlights the most essential information at the top of the page or where the user can find it easily. Opt for an ultra-lightweight menu with simple buttons featuring easily readable fonts or, better yet, instantly identifiable icons.
Improve the User Experience
Improving user experience is an excellent way to create a mobile-friendly website. How can you accomplish this? To start, use your own smartphone or tablet to test the mobile experience on your website. Be mindful of buttons, menus, links, calls to action (CTAs), and their locations.
Every button should be large enough to click with a thumb, and you should prominently display vital information. Another important factor: Avoid pop-ups. Using pop-up ads makes it far more likely for mobile users to abandon your page, detracting from the overall mobile experience.
Testing and Optimising Your Mobile Design
To ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, you have a few different options for testing and optimisation. First, you can test your page using Google’s Search Console. Just enter the URL of your page, and it will rank your site for mobile optimisation.
Next, you can perform a “real-life” test by viewing your website from your own mobile device, desktop, laptop, tablet, and different browsers to check for bugs, malfunctions, or poorly designed areas.
Continue Learning
In today’s digital age, knowing how to make a website mobile-friendly is a critical skill that can drive success for your business. However, not everybody is born to be a website designer. It takes skill, talent, knowledge, and hard work. That’s where we shine! Contact the Perth digital marketing agency team to elevate your brand and stay ahead of the competition. Find your digital edge today.
