“Fix Mobile Usability Issues Found On http://www…”

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mobile-usability-issues


Over the past few weeks we’ve received a lot of these notifications from our clients’ Webmaster Tool Accounts, in addition to emails from those same clients asking if these notifications are legit and if action should be taken. The short answers to those questions are:

  1. yes they are legit, and
  2. yes you should take action.

1. Yes, They are Legit Notifications

The notifications come from Google Webmaster Tools, which is a tool we use to provide data such as mobile usability issues, search query info, error information and more. The mobile usability issues state that Google crawled your website as a mobile device and found items that were not compatible or ideal for a mobile visitor.

Some of the mobile issues Google might notice include:

  • Text is too small (the need to pinch your smartphone screen to read text)
  • Inability to use drop-down navigation
  • Difficulty with data input or form filling
  • Touch elements are too close together

2. Yes, You Should Take Action

As a person who fully understands the impact of mobile searching (I do most of my shopping and research on my mobile device), I recommend you take action and make your website mobile-friendly with responsive functionality (responsive means that the layout adapts to display well on any device).

Why Should You Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly?

  1. Change – The only thing that will remain the same over the next few years is going to be change. The size and shapes of devices and monitors will continually transform as new methods of data consumption arise.
  2. Search Engine Performance – With such an emphasis on mobile design, it is likely that Google will start to incorporate mobile design into the mobile algorithm. Basically if your site is not mobile friendly, you may not show up prominently in mobile search engine results.
  3. Your Visitors Are Already Mobile – You may be saying, “There’s no way my visitors are searching me on a mobile device – that’s not my audience.” See our latest blog post that shows your industry doesn’t matter – you’re being viewed on mobile devices.

Interested in a mobile website? Contact us today >