Tag Archives: Mobile Friendly

Why Your Website Should Be Mobile-Friendly

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Why Your Website Should Be Mobile-Friendly

Why Your Website Should Be Mobile-Friendly

With the improvement of smart phone technology, websites are being constantly accessed from mobile browsers and mobile devices. This means that the conventional design techniques may need to be tweaked to suit different screen sizes and be cross compatible with the plethora of devices in the market. With multiple companies launching newer models every day, the competition for how your website will be viewed is also hotting up. The experience of a mobile user is so significant in making or breaking a sale that now website’s are forced to change the way they looked or behaved based on what the users want. This article explains why you should make your website responsive or mobile friendly if you haven’t already started.

Higher Ranking in Google Search

Starting April 2015, Google will start giving priority to websites which have a mobile-friendly version of their site. Google has already started providing tags to search results which indicate which web page is mobile friendly i.e. can be easily viewed on a web page. As per Google’s Webmaster Blog:

“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. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.”

They go on to say: “When it comes to search on mobile devices, users should get the most relevant and timely results, no matter if the information lives on mobile-friendly web pages or apps. As more people use mobile devices to access the internet, our algorithms have to adapt to these usage patterns. In the past, we’ve made updates to ensure a site is configured properly and viewable on modern devices. We’ve made it easier for users to find mobile-friendly web pages and we’ve introduced App Indexing to surface useful content from apps.”

Other search engines are also most likely to follow suit and give preference to mobile friendliness in a website. Yahoo and Bing, like Google also give priority to responsive websites and openly indicate that.

Multiple Screen Sizes

The main aim for any website should be to serve up what the user wants and how the user wants. With the drastic shift in internet usage to mobile devices, websites also need to adapt to this shift in pattern. This is called Responsive Design. Responsive Design is used to reduce data usage on mobile connections by stripping off unimportant parts of the website and only focusing on the important aspects. Modern web design must make adjustments for different types of screens including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, projectors and even window displays. Every screen needs to have the unique features based on their usage and based on their functionality.

W3CSchools says that “RWD stands for Responsive Web Design; RWD can deliver web pages in variable sizes; RWD is a must for tablets and mobile devices.”

Focus on important features

Larger buttons, larger font size and a design optimized for a mobile screen are ideal in giving the best website experience to a mobile user. Other factors which are given priority is element spacing, especially for things like links, popups, buttons and even drop down lists. The whole point of this is to ensure that the end user focuses on exactly what they want and not the flowery features of your website which are presented to desktop users.

What is a Responsive Design Website? What are its advantages / limitations?

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Mobile browsing is the new trend now. The ability to always have an internet ‘on-the-go’ excites everyone – children and adults alike. . It is therefore of no surprise that it is taking over in internet usage.

Pew Research Centre (2012) reveals that 28% of internet usage comes from mobile phones; it also projects mobile internet usage to completely overtake desktop by 2014 – affirming the foreseeable dominance of mobile browsing in the near future.

Even with all the convenience that mobile browsing provides, it also has its own problems. For instance, how many times have you been denied access to websites simply because the page was ‘too large to load’? Well, I have experienced it several times, and it is always very frustrating to say the least –now this is where RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN comes in handy.

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is simply a web design developed to adapt to the screen of any device. This means it has the ability to fit to screens of desktops, laptops, tablets, hybrids and even that of smart phones. The following are some advantages of RWD:

It improves web page accessibility: Through the introduction of Responsive Web Design, companies can now create mobile versions of their websites to enable easy access to their contents through the use of mobile phones.

It enhances mobile browsing experience: The RWD used in creating mobile websites ensures that features are strategically arranged to suit mobile screens in order to make browsing simpler and less stressful.

It also reduces data consumption: Mobile browsing usually involves data usage. This means the larger the web page the more data is used. Larger web pages contain lots of images; and it takes significant amount of data to load. Mobile versions however, consume less because the interface is usually straightforward.

However, all is not so rosy with RWD. There are some limitations that one should also consider before buying into the adaptive web design;

It is not economical: It is a cost that could be easily avoided. In the sense that, it costs a lot to create a website, so it would seem as a waste of cash to also spend on a mobile version considering that both websites would be displaying similar content.

It does not display all features: Since the screen of the mobile phone is very small; it is improbable to display exactly everything that can be found on the actual web page. So features are strategically arranged to ensure that the most relevant ones appear. Therefore, one can say that the features of the Responsive Web Design differ from device to device, and it is not exactly the same as it promises.

In conclusion, RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN is truly making a difference in mobile browsing in particular, and browsing in general –as it was intended. Of course it‘s not perfect; but its limitations should not ensure or lead to failure; rather it should be seen as a room for improvement. Mobile browsing seeks to dominate internet usage in the coming years; and RWD would definitely have a part to play.