How To Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Friendly

Author details: Annie Everill, Digital marketing executive, Imaginaire 

In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an integral part of our everyday lives, with more and more users accessing websites on smartphones and tablets. As a result, businesses must ensure that websites are optimised for mobile to enable consumers to access entertainment, shop, communicate and access information. 

What is Mobile-Friendly Design?

Mobile-friendly design, often referred to as responsive web design, is an approach to website development and design that results in a seamless and optimal user experience across a wide range of mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, as well as desktop computers.

The process involves creating web pages and layouts that automatically adapt to the screen size, orientation, and capabilities of the device being used. Without responsive web design, websites could have limited functionality and visibility, slower response times and a restriction on content. 

Why is it Important For Businesses to Optimise Their Website For Mobile Usage?

Optimising a website for mobile usage is crucial for businesses in today’s digital landscape. Here are the main reasons why businesses should prioritise mobile optimisation:

• Increased mobile traffic
• Improved user experience 
• Higher search engine rankings
• Competitive advantage
• Reduced bounce rates
• Increased conversion rates
• Brand credibility
• Local business benefits
• Accessibility
• Social media integration
• Cost-effective marketing
• Global reach

In summary, optimising a website for mobile usage is no longer a luxury but a necessity for businesses of all industries. It directly impacts user satisfaction and can be a make or break when it comes to customers pursuing a transaction or service. 

How To Optimise a Website For Mobile Friendliness

Optimising a website for mobile-friendly design involves a series of steps and best practices to ensure that your site performs well and provides an excellent user experience on mobile devices. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to do it:

Responsive Design

Use a responsive web design framework or grid system to create flexible layouts that adapt to different screen sizes and orientations. 

Fluid Typography

Use relative units like percentages for font sizes, line heights, and spacing to ensure text scales appropriately on mobile screens. Avoid fixed font sizes that may be too small or too large on mobile devices.

Touch-Friendly Navigation

Make navigation elements such as buttons and links large enough to be easily tapped with a finger. Ensure there is enough space between interactive elements to prevent accidental clicks.

Mobile-Friendly Images and Media

Optimise images for the web, ensuring they are appropriately sized and compressed for fast loading.

Streamlined Content

Prioritise content that is essential for mobile users and consider hiding or collapsing less important content behind sections. Use concise and scannable headings, subheadings, and bullet points to improve readability.

Fast Loading Times

Minimise HTTP requests by combining CSS and JavaScript files, and reduce the use of external resources. Enable browser caching and leverage content delivery networks.

Mobile-Friendly Forms

Optimise forms for touch input by using appropriate input types whilst also ensuring form fields and buttons are large enough and easy to interact with on mobile screens.

Mobile SEO

Implement best practices for mobile search engine optimisation (SEO), such as optimising meta tags, creating a mobile sitemap, adding SEO to imagery and using structured data. Ensure that your site loads quickly, as page speed is a ranking factor for mobile search.

Accessibility

Follow web accessibility guidelines (such as WCAG) to ensure that your website is accessible to users with disabilities, including those using screen readers on mobile devices. Provide alternative text for images and use semantic HTML elements.

User Testing

Conduct usability testing with actual users on mobile devices to gather feedback and make iterative improvements. Pay attention to user behaviour, common pain points, and suggestions for enhancing the mobile experience.

Performance Monitoring

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to continuously monitor your website’s mobile performance and make optimisations accordingly.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

Test your mobile-friendly design on different mobile browsers and operating systems to ensure consistent performance and appearance. Consider using feature detection rather than browser detection for enhanced compatibility.

In conclusion, crafting a mobile-friendly website is not simply a design choice; it’s a strategic imperative in our mobile-centric world. As we’ve explored in this blog, the best practices for achieving mobile-friendliness encompass responsive design, image optimisation, streamlined content, touch-friendly navigation, and adherence to accessibility and SEO standards.