Mobile Website Checklist for an Attractive Site

Mobile browsing is no longer on the rise – it is THE primary way most Internet users interact on the web and find what they need. This means ensuring your website is mobile optimized is critical. If site visitors encounter any problem accessing or navigating your site on mobile, they are GONE – and you just lost a potential sale or client. 

Not sure if your site is mobile friendly? Use this handy Google tool to test your site. It’s free and only takes a few minutes. Keep in mind that an automated test is just a starting point – it cannot be exact. You should use it (if at all) as a guide for where to begin optimizing your business website for mobile users. Here’s a handy mobile website checklist for making your website mobile friendly. 

Test Your Website at Different Resolutions

Your website must be easily read and navigated at different sizes, or when viewed on different sized screens. Modern smartphones have varying screen sizes, and people also use tablets for accessing the Internet quite frequently. There are several easy ways to do this: 

  • View your site on different devices – borrow or collect everyone’s smartphone and tablet at home or work and view your site. Make notes about any problems you see. 
  • Use online tools to view your site at different resolutions. 

Your website should not appear as a shrunken version of the desktop site. Mobile friendly means easy to view and navigate, so elements may be moved or changed to facilitate a better mobile experience. If so, this is good. If not, it’s time for some changes. Testing at different resolutions will reveal issues with many of the items on the checklist that follow. 

Test Menus and Navigation on Smaller Screens

Smaller screens can make site navigation and links more difficult to locate and use. This is especially true if you have links in text instead of using buttons or other navigation-style links. Some items to test include: 

  • Check that all menu elements are visible or can be accessed by scrolling
  • Check that all links are aligned for clarity
  • Check that all sub-menus are nested or hidden, but accessible with a click
  • Check that any text on menu items is readable and clickable 

Test Your Images at Smaller Resolutions

Images and graphics are integral to any business website, and they should be clear and stunning at any resolution. Use smaller image files that allow for clarity at lower resolutions. This can also improve loading speed. Cropping some images can also help. Some images or graphics do not work well on smaller screens, like infographics. If the infographic is integral to your page, consider creating a link button to it instead that allows an interested user to click and view at a larger screen-sized resolution. 

Test Your Content for Readability

Content is king on business websites, but only if it is easily read. Mobile devices with smaller screens will shift copy around for better aesthetics as well as shrink it. Make sure your text is handled properly and not shrunk beyond discerning. It a site user is forced to pinch and zoom your site pages to read them – BOOM – they are gone. 

Readability is easy to fix: 

  • Choose a basic font for your body and heading content
  • Break up text with explanatory headings to aid in content skimming
  • Be sure your website theme allows versatility in how you display content 

Test Site Elements for Ease of Interaction

Here again, usability is key. If your site elements (links, menus, clickable photos, etc.) are too small or awkward to be easily used, you’ve just lost a user and potential client. Test by using them and asking others (maybe with larger fingers) to use them on different size screens. Nothing beats a real rest on real devices. Make adjustments here with care, as it is a balancing act between viewability, loading and usability. 

Test Your Website Loading Speed

We hope this mobile website checklist helps! Modern Internet users on various devices want access now. Your mobile optimized website should load within a second if you hope to retain site visitors and turn them into clients. Consider caching some site elements like images or optimizing them for quicker loading. Choose simpler website themes that do not have many complex elements to load. 

If you need help with your business website, 1-FIND can help with issues like mobile and local optimization. Contact us for help with your website in Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol and the surrounding Northeast Tennessee communities. 

Casey Carmical
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