Click here to test your website nowWhat does Mobile Responsive mean? How does it affect me and my business website? Do I really need to change my website to make it responsive?

To put into simple terms, Mobile Responsive means the following; when viewed on smaller devices, e.g a smartphone, iPad or tablet, the website views differently than it does on a desktop or laptop view of your site. It shows larger icons, all the content is larger and aligned so the user does not have to zoom in, your top navigation may change into a drop-down menu, your logo may shrink, links are easier to tap etc.  A website that is not mobile friendly or mobile responsive will show the same as a desktop view, but when seen on a mobile device, will look very small and usually unreadable and links are un-clickable.

Why do I suddenly have to change my website to be Mobile Responsive?

It’s not really a case that you suddenly have to do this, as for a few years now mobile device usage has increased for browsing websites.  Roughly 50% of all website hits will now be from a mobile browser.  It has been advised to make your website mobile friendly to help users navigate your pages. 80% of internet users own a smartphone and will browse the web on it.  The reason you may be hearing more hype lately is that in the last few weeks Google has changed how they index your website. This, in the online world, has been called Mobilegeddon.  That may make you laugh but the search engine has released a large update, and your site’s ranking can be penalised now if your website is not mobile friendly. This update affects anyone’s website is not mobile friendly and Google penalties are a serious hazard to small business owners. If you get affected by a Google penalty, traffic will drop dramatically and you will no longer keep your high rankings for those all-important keywords, thus decreasing your client click-throughs to your website and lowering your sales or business.

But I love the look of my current website and I have heard Mobile websites look so poor..

You have to weigh up the pros and cons of a mobile responsive website. Unfortunately, Google now has really given very little choice to business owners in this matter, as a Google penalty can severely affect your online business.  Try not to see this as a bad thing as, yes, it means you need to convert your website into mobile friendly and that will incur costs but you will, with the right designer, be able to make an attractive mobile version of your website and your customers will thank you. It will make their life easier when navigating your website which means your sales or traffic will increase, and you will keep your Google rankings and possibly even increase them.

Do you need to make your website Mobile responsive?

You can test your website with Google to see if it is mobile friendly. Click here to test your website now

Drop us a line and we can discuss with you the best way to update your website and avoid losing those all important rankings in Google.