Why Your Website Needs to be Mobile-Friendly

Whether you are at the mall or a restaurant, the doctor’s office or the grocery store, there is one common sight you will find almost everywhere you go these days – people looking down at their phones.

According to recent reports published by Google, 50% of mobile users visit a store within a day after conducting a local search. Additionally, 34% of mobile Internet users go online mostly using their phones. From checking Facebook to browsing the web, we have become increasingly dependent on our mobile devices, and websites are really missing out if they are not mobile-friendly.

Google is now taking things a step further for both websites and mobile Internet users. Recently, Google officially launched “mobile-friendly” labels.

What exactly does this mean? Let’s say the average person does a Google search on their phone for a hair salon. In their list of results, Google has now added a label that clearly reads “mobile-friendly” to let users quickly know which websites will be compatible with their mobile phones. The hair salons that have not made their websites mobile-friendly will likely miss out on a lot of mobile visitors with this addition.

According to the official Google Webmaster Central Blog, sites will be eligible for the new “mobile-friendly” label if they meet the following criteria:

• Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
• Uses text that is readable without zooming
• Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
• Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped

So how will you really know if your website meets the Google standards? Luckily, Google has made that easy on you too. The new “Mobile-Friendly Test” from Google will quickly analyze your website and let you know whether or not it features a mobile-friendly design. Voila! If your site is deemed as “not mobile-friendly,” Google is even taking the extra step to give you the reasons why.

Honestly, you really do not have much of an excuse to not make your website mobile-friendly right away. With these new changes being implemented by Google and the growing number of mobile Internet users, the benefits clearly outweigh any costs you may incur for making the necessary updates.