How to make your mobile friendly website

Key takeaways:

• Make sure your website works well on all devices for a better user experience.
• Optimize images and videos to keep things loading quickly, especially on mobile.
• Test your site on different devices regularly to keep everything running smoothly.

Did you know that about 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices? This means most people are browsing on their phones. If your site isn’t built for that, you could be losing visitors fast. You don’t need to be a tech expert to make a website mobile-friendly. With the right approach, you can improve user satisfaction for both mobile and desktop users.

This guide will show you how. Let’s dive in!

What is a mobile-friendly website

A mobile-friendly website is a site that works well on mobile devices. It’s programmed to adjust to smaller screens while staying easy to use. As internet users turn to their smartphone or tablet for portability and convenience, they tend to favor mobile-friendly websites.

Here’s what makes a website mobile-friendly:

1. Reflowing content. This is content that adjusts its width so that it fits the width of a screen. It prompts browsers to re-calculate dimensions and positions of different elements, then reloads pages.
2. Clean navigation. Navigation should be simple. Menus, buttons, and links need to be easy to tap, and fonts should be large enough to read without zooming in. This improves accessibility, especially for visitors on smaller screens.
3. Enhanced site speed. Mobile-friendly sites load quickly. They prioritize speed due to display constraints and the need to keep users engaged. In fact, Google found out that bounce rates increase by 32% when load times stretch from one to three seconds—and by five seconds, 90% of visitors leave. On mobile, where users expect instant results, even small delays can make a big difference.

Why make your website mobile-friendly

A mobile-friendly website helps your business connect with your audience, stand out from competitors, and grow. Here’s why it matters:

Get more visitors and build trust

A mobile-friendly site makes it easy to browse and share your content, bringing in more visitors and building trust through personal recommendations. Users generally won’t stick around or recommend a poorly designed site. When it’s the other way around, it may appear professional and up to date. This can attract more visitors and build trust.

Rank higher on Google

Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it checks your site’s mobile version first to determine search engine rankings. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, no matter how good it looks on desktop, you could lose out on mobile traffic and see diminished user engagement over time.

Get more conversions

When mobile users can easily navigate your site, they’re more likely to take action, whether making a purchase or signing up for a service. Optimizing each web page for mobile screens helps improve conversion rates and gives you a competitive edge over businesses that haven’t updated their sites.

Steps to make your website mobile-friendly

Mobile screens come in all shapes and sizes, from smaller phones to larger tablets, with even the same devices varying in display.

Step 1: Use a responsive layout

A responsive layout ensures your site adjusts automatically to fit any screen, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop.

Start with a mobile-first design to make sure your site looks great and works smoothly on smaller screens. Website builders and content management systems (CMS) are ideal for creating a responsive website without all the stress. Most platforms already use mobile-friendly designs, so you’re already on the right path. Once you’ve nailed the mobile layout, you can fine-tune things for larger screens like desktops.

When designing for mobile, focus on what matters most:

• Use clear headings to make information easy to find.
• Keep text short and sweet so visitors don’t have to scroll too much.
• Highlight key details like buttons, contact info, or calls-to-action.

Step 2: Simplify navigation and design

Your site should feel effortless to use on mobile devices. Visitors want to find what they need quickly—whether it’s your contact info, a product, or a search function.

Consider how they’re interacting with their devices. Are they scrolling, tapping links, or searching for specific details? Designing with these user scenarios in mind makes it easier for you to envision how your users will explore your site.

Keep navigation simple and predictable

Navigation is the roadmap for your site. On small screens, it needs to be clear and easy to navigate:

1. Use a collapsible/hamburger menu. You’ve likely seen this as three lines stacked on top of each other, resembling a hamburger. It keeps extra menu options out of the way until needed, making it easier for users to explore your site without distractions.
2. Focus on essential links. Include only what visitors need / use most.
3. Place menus where visitors expect them. The top or bottom of the screen works well for a mobile-friendly site.

Make content scrollable and touch-friendly

Mobile users rely on scrolling and touch navigation to explore your site. Here’s how to make it easy for them:

1. Choose readable fonts. Text should be clear and easy to read.
2. Break up text into smaller sections. Use short paragraphs, headings, and white space to make your content scannable. 
3. Highlight key information. Calls-to-action and mobile pages should stand out visually. 
4. Space out buttons and links. Give interactive elements enough room so users don’t accidentally tap the wrong one. 
5. Make buttons large enough for touch. They should work well on any user’s device. 

Minimize distractions with a clean design

A tidy layout helps visitors focus on what matters most. Too much clutter can make it harder to navigate.

1. Use white space. It separates content and keeps your design organized.
2. Limit pop-ups. If you use them, make sure they are easy to close and don’t block important content. 
3. Add interactive elements thoughtfully. Use sliders or animations to enhance the experience on a mobile-friendly website, but only if they add value. 

Step 3: Optimize images and speed

Website speed is key, especially when it comes to a mobile website. Mobile users expect sites to load quickly, and if yours is too slow, they’ll leave before they even see your content. Most mobile-optimized websites focus on the essentials, prioritizing critical functions so the experience is fast and smooth, even on smaller screens.

To make sure mobile users have the best experience, here’s what you need to focus on:

Pick a fast-loading theme and hosting

The theme you choose can make or break your website’s performance. Opt for a theme that’s not only mobile-optimized but also designed for speed. You’ll want it to load fast and look great on any device.

Your hosting plan matters too. A reliable hosting service is the backbone of a mobile website. When you combine a fast theme with solid hosting, you’re creating the perfect environment for your site to run smoothly and load quickly.

Clean up your code and reduce redirects

Messy codes can drag down your site, especially for mobile users. Extra spaces, comments, and unused code make your files bigger, which slows everything down. Tidying up your code helps your site load faster and keeps things running smoothly.

Cutting down on redirects also trims delays.

Compress your images and use modern formats

Images can be a major culprit behind slow load times, especially on mobile devices. Here’s how you can optimize them:

1. Compress large images. Shrink your image files without losing quality using tools like TinyPNG or Kraken.io.
2. Switch to modern formats. Use WebP or AVIF instead of older formats like JPEG or PNG. These formats load faster and take up less space.
3. Prioritize quality and speed. Always balance image quality with file size to maintain a professional look while prioritizing fast loading.

Try lazy loading

Lazy loading delays loading images and videos until they’re needed, keeping your site fast and responsive. Instead of loading everything upfront, content appears only when users scroll to it. This is especially helpful for mobile users, where large files can slow pages down and use more data.

Host videos on video-sharing platforms

Consider hosting videos with large file sizes on YouTube or Vimeo. From there you can just embed them to your page. This takes the pressure of hosting and loading such large multimedia files off your site.

Use a content delivery network (CDN)

A CDN speeds things up by storing large image files and other content on servers closer to your users. This cuts down on delays and keeps your site running quickly even for all visitors across the globe. It also helps manage heavy traffic volume to keep your site stable.

Step 4: Use HTML5 and other modern web technologies

Modern web technologies help your site load faster and deliver a smooth mobile user experience. They can keep visitors engaged, reduce bounce rates, and make sure your site is compatible with current browsers. Whether it’s animations, media, or interactive elements, using the right tools makes a big difference.

Outdated tools like Flash, once popular for animations, are no longer supported by most browsers. To keep your site running efficiently:

1. Switch to HTML5 for media and animations. This modern standard allows you to add videos, graphics, and animations without slowing down your site. It’s lightweight, fast, and works on all devices.
2. Regularly update plugins and widgets. Check that add-ons like sliders, forms, or galleries are mobile-responsive and meet your needed website speed. These features enhance user interaction and keep your site user-friendly.

Step 5: Test and fine-tune your website

Once you’ve optimized your site for mobile, test it. Regular testing ensures your site not only looks good but also functions smoothly for every visitor on any device / screen size. By simulating how mobile users interact with your site, you can identify and address any issues to create a fast, reliable, and enjoyable mobile user experience.

Test your site on real mobile devices

It’s not enough to rely on previews or simulators. Test your mobile site on real mobile devices and different mobile browsers to make sure that your site works as expected. Check across different devices and switch orientation to make sure your site functions properly in both portrait and landscape modes. Test on Android, iOS, and a variety of screen sizes to identify inconsistencies.

Simulate user scenarios

Walk through your site as if you’re a visitor. Think about what they’re likely trying to do, such as:

• Navigating the menu.
• Clicking buttons and links.
• Searching for content.

This helps you identify and fix usability issues for a smooth user experience. To make it even better, use a checklist to review how mobile-friendly your website is.

Use online tools to identify issues

Testing tools can highlight problem areas and give you actionable insights on how to improve your website’s mobile friendliness:

• Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test: Check if your site meets mobile standards and identify areas to improve.
• PageSpeed Insights: Analyze your site’s website speed and get tips on how to make it faster.
• Responsive Design Checker: Responsive Design Checker lets you test the responsiveness of your websites. If you notice an issue, you can easily go back to your design tool and make the necessary adjustments. It’s worth looking into if you have a simple website that’s easy to edit and maintain.

What if you didn’t start out for mobile first?

First, check if your site is mobile-friendly. If it’s not, here’s what you can do to fix it:

1. Reorganize content and adjust buttons. Move or resize buttons and stack content so everything fits neatly on smaller screens.
2. Compress images and adjust sizes. Reduce image file sizes and adjust font sizes to make text easier to read on mobile.
3. Tweak margins and padding. Adjust the spacing to keep things aligned and ensure a clean look.

If you’re comfortable with code, you can make things even smoother with the viewport meta tag and media queries:

Viewport Meta Tag

This is a must for mobile-friendly sites. It tells the browser to scale your site to fit the device screen. Just add this line to the <head> section of your HTML:

<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0″>

Media Queries

These let you adjust the design based on the device’s screen size. For example, you can make font sizes smaller on phones or change layouts. Here’s a quick example:

@media (max-width: 768px) { body { font-size: 14px; margin: 10px; } }

By following these steps, you’ll get a mobile-friendly design that looks great on any device.

Take the first step to engage your mobile users

Now you know why having a mobile-friendly website is important. It helps you connect with your audience, improve conversions, and create a better experience for the ever-growing number of mobile users.

If you need support, Web.com makes managing this simple. Our DIY website builder offers beautiful templates. Our SEO optimization checker helps you analyze gaps to help improve your search engine visibility. With our reliable hosting packages, you’ll have everything you need to create a reliable and mobile-friendly website.

No time to DIY? Our professional design team is always ready to help.

Take the first step today and see how a mobile-friendly website can transform your online presence.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)