We all know the importance of having a mobile-friendly website. However, we have seen how some businesses still haven’t optimised their website for being easily accessible on the phone. If this is you, then it is time to act immediately, as from July 5th, Google will no longer index your website, hence affecting your SEO! Yes, you will get fewer visitors, less engagement, a higher bounce rate, and more.
In this blog, we will talk all about mobile-friendly websites and how to make your website stay in Google’s good graces.
Why You Need a Mobile-Friendly Website?
Since most of the world’s population loves being minimalists, tablets and mobile phones are the easiest way to gain information, browse apps, and entertain themselves. You need a mobile-friendly website.
For example, let’s say a businesswoman is travelling and gets an idea for her business. She wants cost-effective software to streamline her business. Since the phone is already in her hand, she can simply type “Cost-effective SAP Software.” If she lands on your website, however, it is slow on the phone or internal links aren’t accessible, then she will leave. You now have a bounce rate! So, now do you understand why you need a mobile-friendly website?
If you want clients, you must transform your website to be mobile-friendly. PERIOD!
💡Did You Know?
As of June 2024, mobile devices contribute to 61.35% of all website traffic. Source: Exploding Topics
The Shift to Mobile First
Google has been highlighting the importance of mobile-friendly websites for years. It was first introduced back in 2018, when Google first started indexing and ranking websites that were easily accessible on phones, hence bringing traffic to the website easily.
Google wants you to have a good experience on their search engine and, of course, on the website through any device. Hence, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly or responsive, it creates a negative experience for the user, which means it’s a red flag for your website. Now that’s a big bumper, isn’t it?
What Does Mobile-Friendly Mean?
Is your website mobile-friendly? Here’s what it means to have a website that is mobile-responsive:
- Responsive Design: Your website should easily adjust to the device, whether it is a tablet or phone.
- Readable Text: Your website’s content should be easily readable to the users without them zooming in.
- Easy Navigation: Menus and buttons should be easy to use on your touchscreen.
- Fast Loading Times: Once mobile users visit your website, it should open easily and shouldn’t slow down since the internet on the phone is usually slower. Your website should load quickly.
Testing Your Site
In case you are not sure if your website is or isn’t mobile-friendly, then you can try this handy tool called “Mobile-Friendly Test” by Google. Simply enter your website URL, and it will give you the details and give you tips to improve it.
The Impact of Not Being Indexed
If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, then Google won’t index it, which is basically not search-friendly for your search engine. This can affect your business; here’s how:
- Loss of Traffic: If people can’t find your website either on their phone or tablet, they will leave! Hence, it will decrease your website traffic.
- Decrease in Sales: If the traffic is low, then you will lose your potential customers and, eventually, sales.
- Lower Brand Visibility: Websites easily accessible on the phone mean these companies are serious about their brand visibility. Your non-mobile-friendly website means your brand visibility is low, which affects your brand management skills.
How to Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly?
It’s not a rocket science. Here’re some top five ways to making your website mobile friendly. Hope you have your notepad ready.
1. Use a Responsive Design
A responsive website means it needs to have that trendy yet minimalistic design that works well on every device, as it automatically adjusts its design. Today’s content management system like WordPress offers a website that is responsive on all devices, and their templates are perfect to work with. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, then this is a sign of switching it.
2. Optimize Your Images
Large images always slow down your website, which means the bounce rate increases. Yikes! Hence, the images need to be optimised for the web, which means reducing their file size while letting them be in HD quality. You can use either the TinyPNG or ImageOptim tools to do so.
3. Improve Your Site’s Loading Speed
As mentioned earlier, a slow website can increase the bounce rate and affect your brand management; therefore, here are some tips to improve it:
- Minimise HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of elements on your page. This will decrease the number of requests made to the server.
- Enable Browser Caching: You need to allow browsers to store some data locally. Hence, it doesn’t have to be reloaded every time a user visits your site.
- Optimise Your Code: The best and most important part is to make sure you clean up the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; this will make your website load faster.
- Simplify Your Navigation :It is crucial to make your website designed in such a way that navigating is easier. Use simple yet clear menus and buttons. These are easy to use on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. Make sure to avoid hover effects, as they do not work well on mobile devices.
- Test, Test, Test….Finally Test! :Once your website is ready with all the above suggestions, then it’s time to test. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and check everything in detail. You can check your site on various devices and browsers to make sure that it is perfectly working.
Final Takeaways
Google’s decision to stop indexing websites that are not mobile-friendly is a wake-up call for every business owner. Act now if your website isn’t mobile-friendly. Just check the steps above in this blog and make sure your website is up-to-date and accessible on all devices.
Since July is going to start in some days, try making your website mobile-friendly as soon as possible. In case you need assistance, try contacting us today, and our web developers will help you.
