Nowadays, the internet isn’t something that is just left at home when you leave the house; in fact, mobile internet has now taken over PC Internet usage. With smartphones that can allow you to be online 24/7, it’s often faster and easier to check a website on your phone than to switch on the laptop. It is for this reason that business from jewellery companies right through to Essex Removal companies spend time and money ensuring that their websites are fully mobile friendly.
This is something that Google has certainly seemed to take on board. It has recently been announced that as of the 21st April this year Google will be implementing a new algorithm that will prioritise mobile-friendly websites over non-mobile-friendly websites when searching online from a smartphone.
What Is a Mobile-Friendly Site?
A mobile-friendly site is designed in such a way that makes it easy to read and interact with from a mobile device. Whereas non-mobile-friendly sites will have formatting issues that make it difficult to navigate around on a smaller screen, mobile-friendly sites are simple to use, with the most important information, links and search bars immediately apparent and usable for someone logging in from their phone.
What Does This Change Mean?
Whereas Google normally ranks its sites on their popularity and the amount of traffic they generate, the algorithm that ranks search results is now taking into account, and prioritising, mobile-friendly sites. This means that certain sites will not appear in the search results when someone is using Google from their phone, even if the website would normally be highly ranked.
This could be potentially damaging to small businesses – particularly anything such as a shop or a restaurant that people discover while out and about and might be led to as a result of an on-the-go internet search. This could also affect the sales of certain products; if a potential customer does a search for ‘the best brand of running shoes’, for instance, and your website isn’t mobile-friendly, they wouldn’t see it as an option to consider in their search results.
How Can This Be Fixed?
Luckily, making a website mobile-friendly isn’t as daunting as it sounds. It is important, however, that when thinking of the design for the mobile-friendly version of your site, you pinpoint the most essential aspects of your site so that a user can immediately access what they need without any fuss or confusion.
There is many a web design agency in London that will help you convert your site into a mobile-friendly format; these are professionals who will not only work on the programming and troubleshooting, but will also make sure that the site is easy to use while matching the aesthetics and brand of your business.
This is one of many examples of how the world of the internet is continuously evolving, and how running a small business can often be at the mercy of these sudden changes. But with the right knowledge and know-how, you can use the internet as an invaluable tool to allow your small business to thrive.