How to Go Mobile-friendly with Your Website after Mobilegeddon?

Are you planning to set up a web presence for your business? It’s essential these days. But while creating the website, if you are planning to design it only for the desktop version, think again! An only-desktop website holds no value these days.

Image courtecy Hisaharu Motoda.

And there’s enough reason for that.

Google’s Mobilegeddon has been out. And it is a clear wakeup call for all website owners. They need to be present in such a state that they can be viewed from the mobile devices without much of a problem. And if the website is designed in such a way that it helps viewing from the mobile devices and smartphones, then Google is going to assist it rank higher on the SERPs.

That’s because, Google had earlier announced, “Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.”
[related_posts] The objective was to make the websites more mobile-friendly.

But why is that needed?

Here are the reasons.

• Almost 2/3^rd of all Americans own a smartphone.
• 19% Americans depend on mobile devices to surf the internet.

So, if you own a business and want to establish an online presence with a website, it is essential that you make it mobile friendly. In fact, most of the websites these days are responsive. But if yours is not so yet, then it’s time you should immediately give it a responsive turn.

But what are the ways of creating a mobile-friendly website?

Here are a few tips that might come in handy for you.

Going Responsive is Imperative

This is the very first thing that you need to follow. There should not be any special website for mobile devices. You just need to make it responsive. It should be planned in such a way that the site is visible in the best possible manner on all kinds of devices.

Even a few months back, going responsive used to be an option. But no more. It's imperative now.

If you want to survive in this competitive online world, it is essential for your business website to be responsive, so that your target audience can view it perfectly across all devices. It’s better not to design only for the mobile devices. Going responsive is a much prudent option.

Simple is the Keyword

Are you designing your website for a desktop computer? Even then, it needs to be simple. And more so for mobile devices. Remember, the space that a mobile internet user gets is minimal. And he needs to scroll or click through the website within that space.

In fact, clicking should not be considered to be an option while creating a mobile website, as it will make things worse. Instead, the website should be designed for scrolling. And it needs to be simple, so that the user can view the elements clearly even in the small screen of the mobile device.

Think Thumb! Think Index!

Well, these are the fingers that you should think of when designing for the mobile website. That’s because the site is going to be navigated with the help of these fingers. So, the hyperlinks should not be placed too close to each other, so that the user does not overlap their use. Moreover, you should also ensure that there is no pop-up for the mobile version of the website.

Content Needs to be Short

When you are using a mobile to surf through the internet, do you prefer long pages or short one? Do you love to drag the pages down for a long time?

Of course not. Neither does your target audience.

So, you should focus on keeping the content short. You might feel that you should provide the readers with more stuff to let them know better through your website. But for that, you should only break up a single web page into different sections. It will come in handy for the users, as they will seamlessly move through the website and read the content with ease.

Icons and Images Rule

A picture speaks a thousand words. So, using it on the mobile website is extremely prudent.

But what about the icons?

Well, they also convey much more than what a simple chunk of text does. The icons are attractive and they have the ability to convey a message within a moment. So, it is important to use these icons. In fact, if a user comes across your website on the desktop and finds that it has a few mobile icons, he will immediately understand that the site is mobile friendly. And once he is aware of that, he will also visit your site more often from the internet-friendly mobile devices.

Serve Images Optimized for Mobile

Your website must be having lots of images? Have you optimized them for the mobile?

If you haven’t then the site is sure to take a lot more time to load. Hence, the visitors are not going to wait for them to appear clearly. Instead, they will leave your website soon, thus increasing the bounce rate.

So, it is important to optimize the images perfectly, so that they appear in the web in the right way. And yet, they should not slow down the process of loading for the website.

Include Videos Prudently

Use the videos prudently. You can always add videos to your website. In many cases, they add immense value to the website.

But what if the users are not able to view it properly?

When the user is viewing the website from a mobile, he is not able to watch videos that are too long. These videos also slow down the page load time. Hence, if you are planning to use videos for the mobile version of the website too, make sure that they are small in size and perfectly optimized for mobile viewing.

After the designing is complete, you need to test the website for a number of times before launching it. But remember, designing the website of your business isn’t enough these days. You need to ensure that all the users, irrespective of whether they are using the mobile or the desktop versions, are having an amazing surfing experience. Only then you can expect your website to be successful and fetch you more business than ever.