Generally speaking, if you’re a successful marketer you already understand the importance of a website for your business. However, there is more to having an online presence than putting up content and expecting people to see it. As technology changes, so too does the way people access the internet, and the need for responsive web design grows.
Because mobile device searches now account for over a third of all search engine activity, businesses need to utilize content that favours smaller devices with different capabilities than those of traditional desktop computers.
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Why Mobile-Friendliness is Important
Noria, an affordable SEO firm in Brisbane describes that Google is at the forefront of the transition to responsive mobile sites. The company has been gradually encouraging sites to use mobile-friendly content, first by giving qualified sites positive labels in search results, and recently by making a separate ranking system for mobile browsing that promotes those sites before others. Businesses that don’t adapt to these changes are likely to lose a significant amount of their online presence.
How Responsive Web Design Works
Responsive web design is a trend that has been spreading for several years. Essentially, it is the practice of making web content that functions effectively on any device, not limited to personal computers with large screens and Flash capabilities. Functionally, mobile-friendliness can be achieved by two methods: by having a separate mobile version of your web content, or by incorporating media properties in your site’s layout.
Having two sites on one server is easier to understand and execute, but takes up more server space. All that needs to be done to make a mobile-friendly site in the eyes of most judges is to adjust the site layout so it reads naturally on a phone screen without complications. For example, Adobe Flash does not work on the majority of phones, so avoiding the use of Flash content is an easy mobile-friendly rule to follow. Content should be readable without zooming or rotating screens, and links should be properly spaced so that they can be tapped without accidental misclicks.
If you have programming knowledge or access to a proper web designer, mobile-friendliness can be achieved by incorporating adaptive coding into your website that will read what kind of device is accessing it and adjust itself automatically to accommodate your viewers. Fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries are all hallmarks of responsive web content and can be installed by knowledgeable designers.
How to Know if Your Website is Mobile-Friendly
Finding out how your website performs on mobile devices can be done automatically through a mobile site tester. When Google declared its new search engine standards, it provided one such test through its Developers site, which can quickly inform you of your site mobile-friendliness. Most tests, Google’s included, don’t care so much about the method in which you make your site compatible so long as it is. If your site can pass a mobile site tester, it will more than likely continue to receive all the attention it possibly can.
About the Author
Emily Lamp is a professional writer, working closely with many aspiring thinkers and entrepreneurs from various companies. She is also interested in technology, business growth and self-improvement. Say hello to Emily on Twitter @EmilyLamp2.
