What is mobile optimization?
Mobile optimization is the process of ensuring that visitors who come to your website from a mobile device have an experience that is optimal for that device. Every year people spend more and more time on their mobile devices like cell phones and tablets but many websites still aren’t designed to accommodate all the different screen sizes and load times. Mobile optimization takes a look at the design of the site, the structure, page speed and more to make sure you’re not inadvertently turning away mobile visitors.
What does mobile optimization look like? Visually, mobile optimization means smaller and cleaner. The smaller screen size makes it harder to view full-size pages especially when it comes to viewing images and reading text. Most mobile optimized websites have a minimalistic appearance and lack a lot of the bells and whistles you see on a desktop browser. With the limited download speed that goes along with your mobile devices, mobile optimization means fewer visuals like images and gifs. The navigation is often different too. When you browse the internet from a laptop or desktop you use a curser, but on a mobile device you simply use your finger. Finger-based interactions make small, precision buttons on a desktop site hard to manage when browsing from a small mobile device. Things that have to be considered are button size, link location and scrolling location. Optimization is becoming a standard and modern practice. Responsive web design has made mobile optimization more straightforward and accessible to everyone, and that means users have begun to expect this level of functionality to come as a basic standard when browsing on their mobile devices. You might offer some of the most useful, valuable and unique products or services on the market, but if your website’s mobile experience is poor or non-existent, your company may miss opportunities. Did you know? Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites over those that are not in mobile search results. The Google algorithm change that occurred in 2015 tweaked the way Google displays mobile search results. Websites that are optimized for mobile rank better than those that don’t. Mobile optimization is an easy way to improve your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). A very quick and easy way to determine if your site is mobile friendly according to Google is to check Google Webmaster Tools. If you have submitted your site to webmaster tools, go to Search Traffic > Mobile Usability. Google will show you any errors that affect your site’s mobile friendliness and the proper fixes. Many website design platforms offer easy and effective ways to improve your website’s mobile optimization. Be sure your company or organization’s website is optimized for your mobile browsers. It’s an easy way to improve traffic to your site and, in turn, improve the return on investment for your business.