Having worked with dozens of manufacturers, industrialists and finance companies over the years, we aren’t surprised when a potential new client doesn’t have a mobile-friendly website.

There has been an explosion of mobile applications in recent times, coinciding with the expansion and developments in the digital marketplace. As a result, companies of all sizes, in all industries and in every country have begun to appreciate how mobile applications can increase engagement with their customers. The efforts of app developers allow them to market their products in a way which relates to the modern consumer.

This can be a big issue for firms, not just because their websites are tricky to use on mobiles, but also because their sites are pushed further down search engine ranking pages. That’s why you have to consider looking for app development companies, like XAM Consulting, to really give you the outcome you are expecting for your business.

Not sure if your website is mobile-friendly? We’ve used information from Google to create a new tool that renders your site on different mobile devices to make sure customers have a positive experience.

Test Your Website on The Artlab Mobile-Usabilitiy Tester.

Google Mobile-First Indexing And The Way Forward

Google’s overarching aim is to improve the search experience for its users. With this in mind, Google is transitioning to a mobile-first index to benefit the majority of its users that already search on mobile devices.

This means that websites that aren’t mobile-friendly could find their search engine visibility decline in the future. Whether you’ve only recently given thought to putting together a website, or your existing website needs an overhaul or upkeep, Schure Consulting located in Fort Collins can help.

Put simply, websites that work well on mobile will appear before others in search engine rankings.

How To Tell If Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly?

The best way to see if your website is mobile-friendly is to view it on as many mobile devices as possible. Try all the links, interactive components and scroll from top to bottom of all your pages, preferably on devices with different screen resolutions and aspect ratios.

Check that the text is big enough to read on mobiles, make sure links aren’t too close together and try to avoid horizontal scrolling on any of the different sized phone screens.

Unfortunately, this is not very realistic as most of us only have access to a few of the most common devices lying around the office.

Google offers a basic test that you can use to test your websites mobile usability issues.

It is a great starting point for those just getting started with mobile usability testing. This tool lets you be proactive about addressing any mobile usability issues that your website might have and be better prepared for future developments in search engine optimisation and search algorithmic updates.

The main disadvantage, however, is that you get a static report without context.

You don’t get to see or interact with your website on a mobile device. Some items Google might think are not optimised are features that are designed specifically so to enhance an experience for a particular user group. Search engine optimisation is not the only motivation for design and development; a balance must be struck between search engine optimisation and user experience.

It’s ok, we can help – via GIPHY

The ArtLab Mobile Usability Test

As keen users of the Google test we decided to create our own testing tool that builds on the existing Google test by extending the feedback to include helpful articles to explain the errors and to create a virtual experience where your website is loaded according to specific devices. This allows better hands-on testing of how a user might actually interact with your website.

If your website returns a mobile-friendly result, congratulations, you are ahead of the curve. If not, Google normally returns a series of errors, the most common are explained with the links below:

Configure the Viewport
Use Legible Font Sizes
Resize Content
Links Are Too Close Together

Try out the new mobile-friendly testing tool from The ArtLab today and find out if your website is indeed mobile friendly.