You can see and use Google’s mobile-friendly test for yourself; it will give you a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down for its accessibility for mobile users. It’s a convenient way to see whether you are meeting some minimum guidelines for mobile compatibility, and its a feature that millions of website owners have taken advantage of.
The only problem? Google’s mobile-friendly website test misses the point.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t have value, just that it doesn’t give you the information you really need. Google’s mobile test is a good starting point, but with more than half of all web traffic coming for smart phones and tablets, it’s not enough to assess whether your website meets some fairly-acceptable standard of functionality—you need full mobile accessibility. This isn’t about going with Google’s suggestions; it’s about giving your customers what they want.
Taking a “Mobile-First” Approach
The most successful marketers are the ones who don’t need Google’s test. They know that customers are using iPads, Kindles, iPhones, and Androids, so they take a mobile-first approach to web design because they know it won’t harm their ability to reach traditional laptop and desktop users.
What does a mobile-first approach to web design look like? It starts with the basics, including these:
- Responsive web coding that adapts itself to different screen sizes
- Mobile-friendly layouts with different image resolution options for those with limited data plans
- Subheadings and bulleted lists that make content easier to scroll and adjust to a small screen
- Click-to-call and other prompts that are easy to take advantage of via mobile devices
- Mobile-ready emails and marketing communications that can be read anywhere
These are just starting points, but they all suggest a willingness to offer things in a format that’s easy for the majority of customers to digest, rather than simply checking off a few boxes to make sure that a website is technically able to be viewed on a laptop or smart phone.
Are you being proactive with mobile web design and marketing, or just following a few pointers given to you by Google or some other outside party? The answer probably goes a long way towards letting you know what mobile customers really think of your pages.
