How to build a mobile friendly website
A common question is, what is responsive web design? Almost every time we rebuild a website, a major reason for the work, is mobile usability. Believe it or not, older websites and website builds by bad developers, do not work well on mobile devices.
Ever looked at a website using your iPhone or Tablet and found that you can’t see all the screen? Often the images are too big or you need to swipe left and right to read the text. So frustrating!
What is a mobile friendly Website called?
The name for a website that looks and functions well on Computers, Smart Phones or Tablets is ‘Responsive’. As the name “Responsive Web Design” suggests, the website responds to whatever device is viewing it. It then presents itself accordingly.
Why do I need a responsive website?
Well apart from being frustrating, this issue is now one of Google’s biggest pet hates. If your website is not mobile friendly, Google will punish you. Usually punishment comes in the form of low Google rankings.
Not only will Google like you more, so will your clients. Responsive web design looks great, even on a small Android or iPhone. Furthermore the website still functions like the Desktop version. This is especially handy if you are selling online or trying to get customers to call you or contact you.
Most important of all though is this. Today almost 80% of all internet searches come straight from Mobile Devices. This leaves you with only 20% of the market if you are not Mobile friendly. That’s a fact!
Why isn’t my website Mobile friendly
There are many factors that cause websites not to be Responsive. As mentioned, consideration in the design of older websites may not consider mobiles. Because back then Mobile devices were not used as much.
Another reason could be down to who built the website in the first place. If the developer did not have the know-how or couldn’t be bothered, your site may not be responsive.
Indeed, there are many factors to think about when building a website and Responsive Web Design is a big one.
What makes a website work on a mobile?
In short, a great website developer will always ensure your website is responsive. A responsive web design must look good and be fast.
Bare in mind, that often, mobile devices are connecting wireless. Connection is via WIFI or 3G, 4G and now 5G. As we have all experienced. More often than not, wireless connections can be slow or intermittent. So for a Website to work well, it must load fast. If the website takes too long load, parts of the website may be missing or it simply hangs for ages. To combat this, we must optimise every website we build.
In simple terms, it’s a bit like tuning a car engine to ensure it runs reliably and efficiently.
By the same token, all this uses precious Data. As we know, most Mobile Phone plans have limited Data. Thus if you are viewing cumbersome websites, they will chew up your Data very quick.
For one thing, the images on the website cannot be too big. In general, Google does not like images over 100kb in size. (This is not a strict rule but best practice). For instance, oversized images may not fit on a mobile screen. More important, they will take forever to load over poor wireless connections.
With this in mind, you can see why Google is trying to stamp out unresponsive websites. Yes, they are actually being nice for once!
Who builds Responsive Websites near Frankston?
Brag Design have over 15 years, building websites for the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne South East. Since then we have seen the importance of Responsive Web Design grows.
Given that from the start, we’re SEO focused, optimising websites has always been our focus. Naturally this translates to building responsive websites that are super fast and look great on any device.
Here are some of the techniques we use.
- We build websites starting with a responsive foundation
- Compressed image sizes for optimal performance and quality
- Implementation of stringent testing on all devices
- Phone number links will dial your business
- Contact forms are easily navigated via mobile
- Websites submission to Google for Mobile Coverage approval
As seen in all our work, a Brag Design Website looks and works great across any platform. With business from Carrum Downs and Seaford to Moorabbin and Oakleigh, we build the best websites in the area. We know local business needs and we know how your customer want to view your website. In most cases, this will be using a mobile device.
To find out more, call us now or send a message using our contact form.