Learn about Mobile Optimization and its Various Aspects

As of 2017, there are around 2.32 billion smartphone users in the world and 49.73% users accessed the web through their mobile phones.

These large numbers showcase the growing importance of mobile-friendly websites. These websites are optimized for vertical screen sizes and faster loading time. These provide the same viewing experience for smartphone users when compared to desktop users.

However, a significant number of websites are still not optimized for mobile devices and this can contribute to them getting lower ranks in Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Again, making a website mobile optimized is one of the major aspects of SEO which makes it more visible to users.

After the introduction of Mobilegeddon algorithm from Google, the search engine only ranks mobile optimized websites higher compared to the ones which are not. Since then, non-mobile friendly sites have decreased by around 21% within the first three pages of Google, according to BrightEdge.

Developers follow certain guidelines when making a website responsive. These include:

  1. Visible text without zooming

Ease of reading a text in a mobile is one of the foremost requirements for its optimization. Enabling the users to read the texts without zooming in is the first step in this process. Google recommends making each line shorter and increasing the overall length of a post.

  1. Not blocking images, JavaScript, and CSS

Blocking or failing to support images, JavaScript, and CSS might aid in making the website load faster. However, it also deprives the viewer from accessing certain aspects of the website. So, Google eliminates those sites from its search results which don’t support these three major elements.

  1. Large buttons

Small screen sizes call for large buttons in addition to dropdown lists, menus, and others. Making these options finger-friendly accounts for the other requirement of mobile optimization. Developers make sure that responsive web pages have easy navigation and large buttons which even individuals with large fingers can easily click.

  1. Eliminating Flash

Flash slowly continues to becoming obsolete and does not provide much of its application nowadays. Only a limited number of resources require Flash to work and also contributes to the slow loading of a page. Flash in itself takes prolonged time to load and hence, mobile optimized websites avoid using it.

  1. Eliminate text entry

Individuals who might have large fingers may find it difficult to type texts considering the small buttons of a keyboard. Developers use checklists, dropdown menus, and pre-populated fields for those people, thereby, eliminating the need for typing texts.

  1. Reducing pop-ups

Pop-ups may sound adware, but, some of these prove useful in websites. For example, pop-ups asking users to submit their email for newsletters. However, these pop-ups in a mobile website can make it harder when browsing as well as closing. Hence, eliminating pop-ups can make the website more optimized and also, make it load faster.

These were some of the ways in which one can make a website mobile optimized. Such websites will also incorporate good SEO and receive more visibility by ranking higher in SERP.