Google Update: Mobile is Mandatory – What does this mean for you?
2014 saw mobile internet traffic overtake desktop usage for the first time. We all know that having a mobile friendly website is good for usability, but Google is now taking it all one step further.
From April 21st, Google will be rewarding mobile friendly sites in their ranking algorithms. This is great news if your site’s mobile friendly and operating in a space where your competitors sites aren’t. But are you ready for this change?
How mobile friendly are you?
If you’re having to zoom in and pinch to view your website on a mobile device, Google won’t class your site as mobile friendly. Developing your site to be mobile responsive could cost time and money. Google’s new changes may well mean that choosing not to develop a mobile site results in your very own digital suicide.
Knowing your options – mobile vs responsive
So, what options do you have? There are two ways to make your site mobile friendly. You can either use a separate mobile site or utilise the power of responsive web design. We explored the battle of mobile responsive versus dedicated mobile site in a recent blog post, but here’s a run down.
A responsive site means that the website will respond to the size of your screen. It will adjust the size of elements and re-jig the page to fit your browser size. This option is ideal for websites that don’t have an intricate navigation or a lot of tricky and bespoke elements.
Ideal Collection is a great example of a responsive site built by Atelier. The background images and text scale down as you reduce the size of your browser. Thus, optimising the user’s experience and keeping Google smiling.
A mobile specific site is viewed as a completely different website – sitting on m.yourdomain.com – which is built with only mobile devices in mind. This is great for ecommerce websites or those with tricky elements that aren’t suited to responsive design. A mobile site will ensure the key information is always displayed clearly on screen.
Boats and Yachts Warranty has its own mobile site built by Atelier. Due to the complexity of the website, a specific mobile site ensures that all the forms and information are displayed in a way that is perfectly suited to mobile traffic.
If you’re looking for a mobile solution that ensures your site isn’t hit hard by Google’s latest update, get in touch today!