Mobile data usage exceeds desktops.
Mobile traffic is up 222% in the past 7 years [source]. Having a mobile friendly website is more important than ever.
Because more people are turning to their mobile phone to research local businesses, not having a mobile friendly website is a mistake that could cost in the long run. New leads generated from a mobile friendly website are part of the growth trend.
A mobile friendly website is great for SEO.
Search engine providers are analyzing websites for their mobile friendliness. The sophisticated algorithms in place will lower a website mobile search placement score when the analysis indicates the absence of a mobile viewport. For this reason small business owners must insist that their web developers deliver a responsive design so that they may benefit from a better mobile search placement.
Don’t forget about accessibility.
A mobile friendly website needs to have accessibility built into its design. The developer must take into consideration the distance between components where user interaction is expected. For example, touchable links must be distanced from their neighbors so that a user may touch it without inadvertently hitting the one nearby.
Font size is important, too. Small fonts that may be easy to read on a desktop might be too small to be useful on a cellphone.
Taking these and other metrics into consideration will increase the search placement and provide a better experience for the mobile user.
Images and other payloads must be minimized.
Generally, mobile users will have slower internet speeds when browsing the internet with their data plan. Because of this website developers need to send alternative images when building a website or use next-gen images where possible. Doing so will contribute to a better user experience and faster load speeds. Faster load speeds equates to better search placement.
Other things to consider that may weigh down a mobile website are fonts, style sheets, third party resources and rendering.
Balance all of these and things and your website will get high marks as a mobile friendly website.
Test your website for its mobile friendliness with Google’s test tool.
How do I make my website mobile friendly?
There are tools out there that may be able to convert your website into an SEO optimized mobile friendly website. The challenge will be whether or not your existing website has the underlying content and structure for such a tool to be effective.
In many circumstances, the best option is to start from scratch. The reason for this is to make sure all of the key components for optimum SEO can be built into your website.
If you would like help with this please contact me to request a consultation.