What is "Mobile-Friendly"?

With more and more research and purchases being completed online, it is imperative for every company to have a site that is mobile optimized.

Before delving into the benefits of a mobile-friendly site, let's first talk about what being mobile optimized means.

What does it mean to have a mobile-friendly website?

A mobile site is a site that is modified to fit a user’s mobile device (tablet, iPad, or smartphone) and is easy to navigate without the user needing to zoom in or adjust their settings manually. The text is easy to read, the site is easy to navigate, and it’s easy for someone to find what they’re looking for.

If a site is not mobile-friendly, what does that look like?

Have you ever clicked on a site and had it barely fit the screen? Have you had to scroll over to see all of the page? Maybe the text was way too small to read?

Yes? Well, that’s what a non-mobile-friendly site looks like. It’s a pain to navigate, and you’d instead click away and find a competitor than try to search around it.

What is the difference between a mobile website vs a responsive website?

Many people confuse mobile sites with responsive websites. They think that they are the same thing. While they do have one thing in common, they are both set to be optimized for mobile, the way that they get those results are entirely different.

With a mobile website, you have a ‘separate’ website exclusively for mobile devices. This may mean you have two manage two separate websites, or it could mean that the two sites have different content.

With a responsive site, there is an entirely different approach taken. You have one single website that auto-adjusts itself based on the screen size of the user. So no matter what device the user is on, whether it be a large desktop screen, a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, the website will automatically adjust to be optimized on any device.

In this day and age, a mobile-friendly website is not an option; it’s a must for every business. If you are looking to see higher search engine rankings, increased site traffic, and make more sales, you need to ensure that your website is as mobile-optimized as possible.

Check to see if your site is mobile-friendly with this helpful tool from Google:
Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool