Is your website responsive?
I’ve got one word for you, one word that answers the everlasting question: Miths.
And surprise! It’s an acronym, so it’s actually 3 words. But first, what does it mean for a website to be responsive?
RWD or responsive website design is an approach to web design that makes it possible for any user with any device to have the same experience on a website no matter the screen size, layout, or media.
Before we start, let’s run Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check if your website is mobile-friendly.
If you’re seeing this when you hit “Test URL”, you’re fine. You do not need to read this invaluable post about why you need a responsive website design and how you can nail it!
As people increasingly browse on their mobile devices, it is crucial that the visitors find content that’s relevant, timely, easy to read and interact with on smaller mobile screens. And according to Olivier Rabenschlag, Chief Creative Officer at Google, prioritizing mobile is the way to go.
When I think about how I approach a creative problem, I think with always mobile first, and then growing outward. — Olivier Rabenschlag, Google
If a Google spokesperson was not enough to convince you, these stats will be:
According to StatCounter’s June 2019 data, 48.69% of all users in the United Kingdom prefer desktop compared to 40.92% for mobile. (the rest being tablets with only 10.4%) It is safe to say that mobile devices are equally as important as desktop devices unless you would like to ignore almost half of your potential customers. Also, notice that mobile is on the rise in the last 5 years, unlike desktop which is leading in the opposite direction. To cut a long story short; the data shows that the majority of the traffic comes from mobile devices.
Mobile is IN, Desktop is OUT!
Another critical point is that Google prioritizes the sites where you don’t have to pinch and swipe around so that they rank higher in search results.
Going back to the start, so what are the myths, ahem Miths, your website lives by?
Minimal
Minimalism is everything when it comes to responsive web design. Make sure you avoid overcrowded texts. Use refined visuals, simple forms, and accessible contact and search buttons.
Thumb-friendly
Except for moms who prefer to scroll down, pinch and expand using the infamous index finger, everyone uses their thumb to navigate websites on mobile devices.
No offense moms. I like moms. I have a mom, a cool mom in fact, who also happens to enjoy using her index finger to type.
One extra note: Make sure call to action buttons are tappable! Any action that is not possible to take with a thumb, is simply not going to happen be it reading a blog post, submitting a message, or filling out a contact form, like never. That is why your website needs to be thumb-friendly.
Speedy
Speed is very important in the sense that impatient modern smart-phone users don’t bounce right off the landing page.
As a defense mechanism, analyze how well your site loads with PageSpeed Insights. This is a free tool that provides actionable recommendations for how to optimize your site.
To sum it up…
If a website isn’t mobile-friendly, users will bounce off. You’re not gonna rank high on Google, your website traffic will drop, and you’ll definitely not generate leads.
To avoid all that, you just gotta make everything smooth and easy for the smartphone-browsing customers.
Originally published at https://www.nuttersons.co.uk.
