How Mobile-Friendly is Your Website?

What and how to check

What and how to check

Essentially, you need to test how mobile-friendly your website is by trying it out on a number of devices. Here are few things to bear in mind:

1. Consider your target audience

Test on the type of phones that your typical visitors are likely to be using.

2. Test on a mobile connection

If your phone is connected to Wi-Fi, your site might load fairly quickly on a mobile, but what happens when you try it on a mobile connect? In particular, try it with a fairly weak signal as the available data speed is likely to be slower.

3. Why would someone visit your website on a mobile?

Are mobile visitors most likely to be looking for directions or a phone number or other specific information / features? And is all this information readily available when they land on your home page? If you’re wanting mobile visitors to call or text you, do you have a click-to-call or a click-to-text button?

4. What’s the first impression your site gives?

Does it really look as good as it could do?

5. How usable is your site on a mobile?

Are users having to squint, or zoom in an scroll in all directions to try and find what they came for?

6. Do you have other mobile-unfriendly aspects to your site?

For example, do you have Flash on your site? Or does some of your site’s functionality depend on hovering the mouse over certain elements (e.g., menus)? If so, that’s going to be a problem for most mobile visitors.

7. What do the stats say?

If you have Google Analytics installed on your website, check out what’s happening to your mobile visitors? Are they bouncing, getting lost, giving up and going somewhere else?

8. How do your competitors’ sites compare?

Having your website optimised for mobile could be a great way to catch up or, indeed, get ahead.