Google Wants To Know "Is Your Site Mobile Friendly?"

Are you reading this article on your phone? If so, you’re not the only one. The worldwide volume of mobile web traffic has been climbing for as long as smartphones have existed -- and mobile now represents the majority of web traffic. This is why, on March 26th, 2018, Google made an important announcement: they would be rolling out “mobile-first indexing.”

What does this mean in plain English? When Google sorts which websites should appear toward the top of search engine results, they base this decision on the mobile version of your site, not the desktop version.

This announcement from Google inspired tons of businesses to revamp their mobile sites. After all, if the majority of web traffic is coming to your site through mobile, it already makes a lot of sense to ensure that your mobile design is fantastic. And if that traffic might not even be able to find your site without a mobile revamp, then investing in better design becomes a no-brainer.

Are you prepared to keep up with the competition? Or is your mobile site looking a little too 1990’s for comfort? If you’re looking to make some simple but meaningful improvements to your mobile site (both for the benefit of human visitors and search engine crawling bots) then the following four tips can help:

1. Test for Speed

There’s nothing more frustrating than a website that just won’t load. And provoking this type of frustration for your visitors can have some seriously detrimental effects on your business. Bounce rates are much higher for websites that load slowly, for example -- while search engine rankings and conversions tend to be much lower. Brand image is also negatively impacted by slow sites: you want people to interact with your online site with a smile on their face, not while pulling their hair out!

2. Make it Intuitive

Smart mobile design is fun to use and abundantly self-explanatory. Work to simplify the interface, use legible fonts, create large buttons, and do your visitors as many favors as possible in every aspect of your site’s mobile design.

3. Provide Lots of Awesome Content

An important caveat to that last point: “simple” does not equal “plain.” Many webmasters make the mistake of removing content in their mobile sites as a quick, easy path to intuitive design. The problem, of course, is that this is unengaging and downright boring. Regardless of whether your visitors are on mobile or desktop, you should always provide them with interesting, entertaining, and inspiring content so that they remember your brand.

4. Create A Design That Scales

There are plenty of apps and WordPress plugins that will allow you to design desktop, tablet, and mobile versions of your website. Here’s the problem: experts estimate that there are over 500 different screen sizes your site should be capable of accommodating. Rather than utilizing a quick fix, we recommend working with a professional web designer who can help you create a site that looks great on any device.

Learn More About Creative Juice!

We can make your site responsive, intuitive, fast, and full of excellent graphic design and copywriting content. We’ve helped businesses across the country express their ideas and build their brands -- and we’d love to help you next. Get in touch with Creative Juice today to receive personalized info and a free estimate!