In the past decades, we’ve seen technology grow and change at rapid, unprecedented rates. Even within the past decade or so, we’ve seen a massive shift in how the average consumer engages with the internet. Gone are the days of logging on to the home computer shared across the entire household! With the invention and popularization of the smartphone, businesses that fail to prioritize mobile optimization risk being left behind. 

No matter what your business is – whether you’re selling a product, providing a service, or even creating a personal website to house your portfolio – ensuring your website performs well on mobile devices is critical to staying relative and keeping up with your competitors. Let’s talk about why it’s absolutely crucial for your website to be mobile-friendly, as well as simple tips and tricks for making your website mobile-friendly. 

Mobile vs. Desktop Traffic Trends

It’s highly likely that you’ve seen for yourself how important having a mobile-friendly website is. Within the past twenty years, we’ve seen a shift from having one computer in the home shared amongst family members, to each family member having their own little personal computer right in their pockets. 

Think about your own browsing habits. How much easier is it to just pull out your phone or tablet to look something up or make a purchase? The portability of mobile devices makes them accessible from anywhere, as opposed to clunky desktops that have to remain in one spot at home or work. 

Due to this ease of accessibility, more and more frequently use their mobile devices for accessing the Internet. Don’t just take our word for it - if you still don’t believe us, let the statistics speak for themselves: 

• Over 60% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices. 

• Studies show that mobile users often make quicker purchasing decisions, especially when the user experience is smooth.

• Mobile websites get over 80% more traffic than desktop search results. This has led popular search engines, such as Google, to utilize mobile-first indexing, which ranks mobile-friendly websites higher than desktop.

• 53% of mobile users will leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

• In 2023, consumers used their mobile devices three times more often than desktop devices to browse the internet.  

Simply put: if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you are missing out on reaching a huge portion of your potential audience, which could be negatively hurting your business in huge ways. 

Essential Features of a Mobile-Friendly Website

What makes a website mobile-friendly? A mobile-friendly website operates seamlessly across all technological devices, not just a desktop computer. If your website is mobile-friendly, that means people will have the same general experience browsing your website, whether they’re viewing on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone. 

It’s important to remember that giving users the exact same experience across all devices isn’t necessarily the goal here. Some elements of your website simply might not function exactly the same across all devices. 

To deliver a seamless mobile experience, consider these essential features:

1. Responsive Design

Websites with a responsive design are made to automatically adapt to different screen sizes,  providing an optimal viewing experience whether on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. This means that, when viewing your website on a different device, text, images, and buttons will all automatically be resized for the viewer to fit their screen. 

The alternative to responsive design is called adaptive design. While a responsive design will automatically change and resize elements based on the viewer’s device, adaptive design involves creating pre-sized elements for certain screen sizes. While this also makes your website mobile-friendly, it usually involves a little more work on your end or your web developer’s end. 

2. Fast Loading Times

As we mentioned earlier, over half of internet users will leave a website if it does not load in 3 seconds or less. Mobile users expect quick results! A delay of even a few seconds can increase your bounce rate significantly. 

To keep your load times as low as possible, you should compress images and videos as much as you can, eliminate any unnecessary code, keep your web design as simple and minimal as possible, and use a reliable web hosting provider. 

3. Touch-Friendly Navigation

On a desktop, most people use a traditional keyboard and mouse to navigate the web. On almost all mobile devices, though, people use touch to navigate. Therefore, your website should accommodate mobile users by making sure your website is easy to navigate through taps.  

How do you do this? By making sure that all buttons, menus, and links are big enough for mobile users to tap. Additionally, make sure there is enough space between different elements on your website. If your website is not touch-friendly, mobile users might become frustrated when trying to navigate them and simply give up. 

4. Clear Calls to Action 

What is the purpose of visiting your website? Do you want users to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or read an article? When building your website, think about how you want users to engage and interact with it, and then make that clear to your audience through a call to action (CTA). 

Part of a clear CTA is a clear expectation. Use action verbs to effectively communicate what you want your audience to do, and what they will get out of it. For example, if your website contains a form for users to reach out to you for more information, create a button that says “Contact Us.” Then, on the form they will fill out with their contact information, you can have a simple statement that conveys how and when you will reach out to them. 

Additionally, make sure your CTA is in a spot of high visibility on your website. For the example given above, this could mean including the “Contact Us” button on your website’s header so that it’s one of the first things users see when they interact with your website. 

Simple Ways to Test and Improve Mobile Friendliness

Not sure if your website is mobile-friendly or not? There are a few simple ways to test whether or not your website is easy to navigate across multiple devices: 

1. Check Your Site on Multiple Devices: This test is simple and fairly self-explanatory. Open your website on your desktop, tablet, and smartphone to see if you can easily navigate your website on all of them. If not, make note of any pages that are hard to access, buttons that are hard to press, or forms that are hard to fill out. 

2. Optimize Images and Videos: If your load times are slower than you’d like, compress large files and use responsive media to speed things up. Additionally, make sure that images, videos, text boxes, and other webpage elements are the right size across all devices. 

3. Review Your Website Layout: This one might be a little bit time consuming, but it’s worth it! Go through your entire website, page by page, and see if your website is easy to navigate. Wherever possible, see if you can eliminate unnecessary page redirects, simplify user navigation, and avoid clutter. You should also prioritize essential information and ensure text is legible without zooming to make sure your customers can easily find everything they are looking for.  

4. Monitor User Behavior: Use analytics tools to track how visitors interact with your site on mobile devices. There are plenty of analytic tracking services, such as Google Analytics and Plausible, that are simple to use and can help you track user trends on your website. Identify pain points and address them promptly.

Testing your website’s mobile friendliness is quite simple, so make sure you check your website every time you add or change something. Even if your website is mobile friendly, there are always little ways you can change and improve your website to make your customer experience simpler and more positive across the board. 

Stay Relevant With a User-Friendly Website

A mobile-friendly website is no longer optional in the age of smartphones. From boosting your search engine rankings to enhancing user experience and conversions, optimizing your website for mobile is a game-changer. A mobile-first approach ensures you stay relevant and successful in an increasingly mobile world.

In an increasingly digital world, why would you not utilize the internet as the powerful marketing tool it is? Traditional marketing tactics are increasingly ineffective at converting customers – plus, they’re expensive! The key to your business thriving is utilizing the powerful tools right at your fingertips to reach your audience. 

One of those tools is social media. For a lot of small business owners, creating a powerful online presence can feel overwhelming. That’s where we come in! At LoBello Marketing, we want to partner with you to help you develop an online presence, build a cohesive brand identity, and turn curious browsers into lifelong customers. Let’s have a chat and see what LoBello Marketing can do for you to help you take your business to the next level!