Ever wondered “is my website mobile friendly?” With more and more people using their smartphones to search for everything these days, this question really matters for your online success.
Here’s the thing: if your website doesn’t work well on smartphones and tablets, visitors will just leave and find someone else’s site that’s easier to use.
When your design doesn’t respond properly to different screen sizes, it creates a poor user experience and fewer people will actually do what you want them to do on your website. You really need to think about mobile first because that’s often how people will first encounter your business online.
Google used to help us out with their Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check if websites worked properly on mobile devices. But they stopped offering this service in 2023, which has left many business owners scratching their heads about how to check their mobile usability.
Most people will not put up with hassle when they’re browsing online. They don’t want to pinch and zoom to resize pages or scroll sideways just to read your text. If someone tries to look at your desktop-only website on their phone, they’ll have to do all these annoying extra steps, and that frustration will send them straight to your competitor’s site.
So how do you know if your website passes the mobile-friendly test these days? We’ll show you some alternative ways to check your site and give you simple fixes for the most common mobile usability problems that crop up.
Common Mobile Usability Issues to Watch For
When you’re checking if your website works well on mobile, knowing what to look out for makes all the difference. Sort these problems out and your visitors will have a much better time on your site.
Unresponsive layout
This is when your website just doesn’t adjust to different screen sizes. It’s probably the biggest headache for mobile users trying to browse your site. If your website was built only with desktop computers in mind, people on phones will see a squashed, distorted mess that they’ll need to constantly zoom in and out of and scroll sideways just to read anything.
You’ll often see this flagged as a “viewport not set to device-width error” – which basically means your website doesn’t know how to talk to mobile devices properly. The fix involves tweaking your viewport settings so they match what each device actually needs.
Tiny touch targets
Remember, people use their fingers to tap around your website on mobile, not a precise mouse pointer. The average fingertip is about 1.6-2cm wide, and thumbs are even bigger at around 2.5cm. Yet so many websites have buttons and links that are way too small for real human fingers.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines suggest touch targets should be at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels. When they’re smaller than this, people end up tapping the wrong things by accident, getting frustrated, and giving up. Not exactly what you want for your business.
Hard-to-read fonts
If people have to squint to read your text or keep zooming in, you’ve lost them. Font size matters enormously on mobile – aim for at least 16px for your main text. And don’t forget about contrast between your text and background colours. The WCAG recommends a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1.
Poor contrast is particularly tough on people with visual impairments or anyone trying to read your site outdoors in bright sunlight. Make it easy for everyone to read what you’ve got to say.
Intrusive pop-ups
Pop-ups can be annoying enough on desktop, but on mobile they’re often downright impossible to deal with. They usually cover the entire screen, and the little “X” button to close them is so tiny you can’t hit it properly.
Google actually penalises websites that use intrusive pop-ups that mess up the mobile experience. Research shows they’re one of the top reasons people abandon websites altogether. So think twice before adding that newsletter sign-up that blocks your entire mobile screen.
Slow loading times
Mobile users are impatient – and rightly so. Nearly half of people expect web pages to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% will abandon your site if it takes more than 3 seconds. Even just a 1-second delay can cut your conversions by 7%.
Google now uses mobile loading speed as a ranking factor too, so slow sites get pushed down in search results. It’s a double hit – fewer people find you, and those who do find you leave because your site’s too slow.
Is My Website Mobile Friendly? How to Run a Mobile Site Test
Now that you know what problems to look out for, let’s get into the practical bit – actually testing your website’s mobile performance.
Use Google’s Lighthouse Tool
Since Google stopped their Mobile-Friendly Test, Lighthouse has stepped up as the go-to replacement for checking mobile responsiveness. This tool does much more than just test mobile compatibility – it analyses your page’s performance, accessibility, SEO, and other technical aspects, then gives you detailed reports with practical suggestions for improving your mobile experience.
Here’s how to test with Lighthouse:
- Open Chrome DevTools (press F12 or right-click and select “Inspect”)
- Click on the “Lighthouse” tab
- Choose “Mobile” device simulation
- Hit “Run audit”
The results will show you exactly what mobile issues need fixing and give you actionable solutions to sort them out.
Try BrowserStack for Real Device Testing
BrowserStack gives you cloud-based access to real mobile devices for proper testing. With over 9000 different devices being used worldwide, testing on actual hardware gives you the most accurate picture of how your site really performs.
With BrowserStack, you can:
- Test on genuine iOS and Android devices without buying loads of different phones
- Check how your site works across various mobile browsers and operating systems
- Do both manual testing and automated testing
- Take screenshots and videos of your website on different devices
This approach helps you spot critical bugs much faster – the kind that might only show up when real people are using your site. BrowserStack’s device cloud gives you access to over 3000 real devices and browsers for testing whenever you need it.
Check Speed with PageSpeed Insights
Speed testing is absolutely crucial since nearly half of consumers expect web pages to load in 2 seconds or less. Google’s PageSpeed Insights checks your site against their recommendations for making pages load in under one second on mobile networks.
PageSpeed Insights gives you:
- Lab data (collected in controlled conditions) and field data (real-world user experience)
- Performance metrics like First Contentful Paint, Largest Contentful Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift
- Specific suggestions for making your mobile site faster
Remember, even a one-second delay in page loading can cost you 7% of your conversions, so speed optimisation is essential for mobile success.
Simple Fixes for the Most Common Problems
Right, so you’ve tested your website and found some issues. Don’t worry – we’ve been there too, and most of these problems have straightforward fixes that won’t break the bank or require a complete website overhaul.
Switch to a responsive theme
This is probably the biggest change you’ll need to make, but it’s also the most important one. A responsive theme automatically adjusts your site to look good on any device – whether someone’s viewing it on a massive desktop monitor or a tiny phone screen.
We totally understand that changing your website theme can feel a bit scary. But keeping separate mobile and desktop versions of your site just creates more work and costs more money in the long run. Most modern WordPress themes are already responsive, so if you’re using WordPress, you’re probably halfway there already.
If you’re using a custom theme, make sure it’s actually advertised as mobile-friendly. Then test it yourself on your phone before you make the switch – don’t just take their word for it.
Make your fonts and buttons bigger
Think about it – when you’re tapping on your phone, you’re using your finger, not a precise mouse pointer. Your buttons and links need to be big enough for actual human fingers to hit them accurately.
For text, stick to at least 16px for your main content. Anything smaller and people will be squinting or zooming in constantly. Sans-serif fonts work best on small screens because they stay clear even when they’re tiny.
Your buttons and clickable elements should be at least 44×44 pixels, with some breathing room between them. Nobody wants to accidentally tap the wrong thing because everything’s squashed together.
Get your images under control
Heavy images are often the biggest culprits when it comes to slow loading times. The good news is there are some brilliant tools out there that can compress your images without making them look rubbish.
Try tools like TinyPNG or if you’re on WordPress, plugins like WP Smush can do the heavy lifting for you. You can often reduce file sizes by 80% without any noticeable loss in quality.
Consider switching to modern image formats like WebP too. They’re much more efficient than old JPEG files and will make your pages load faster.
Keep your navigation simple
Mobile navigation should be dead simple. If people have to think about how to get around your site, you’ve lost them.
Replace those complex dropdown menus with something that actually works on a touchscreen. The hamburger menu (those three horizontal lines) has become the standard for mobile sites because people know what it means.
Keep your main navigation to 3-4 key options max. Mobile users are usually looking for something specific, so make it easy for them to find what they need without getting lost in a maze of menu options.
Remember, mobile users are often on the go and want to get things done quickly. Make their journey as smooth as possible and they’ll thank you for it.
How to Maintain a Mobile Friendly Website
Getting your website mobile-ready is just the beginning. Keeping it that way takes ongoing effort, not just a one-time fix. We’ve seen too many businesses sort out their mobile issues and then forget about them completely, only to find problems creeping back in later.
Audit your site every 6 months
We check our mobile performance regularly, and we’d recommend you do the same. Aim for a full mobile audit at least twice a year to catch problems before they start affecting your visitors. When you’re doing these checks, look at your site’s health score – anything below 90% means you’ve got some work to do, and scores under 70% are telling you there are serious issues that could be hurting your rankings.
Your audit should cover:
- Mobile responsiveness across different devices
- Page load times (you want under two seconds ideally)
- Touch target sizes and spacing
- Font readability and contrast ratios
- Pop-up behaviour on small screens
Test new pages before publishing
Every time you add new content, give it a quick test on mobile before you make it live. It’s worth checking each page on both Android and iOS devices to make sure everything works consistently. Start by looking at it on your own phone, then use testing tools to check it works on other screen sizes.
This simple step stops mobile problems from building up between your regular audits. With Google focusing more and more on mobile-first indexing, poor mobile performance can really hurt your search rankings.
Use analytics to track mobile bounce rates
Your analytics tell you a lot about how mobile visitors actually use your site. A high bounce rate – that’s the percentage of people who leave after looking at just one page – often means you’ve got mobile usability problems.
Keep an eye on how your mobile users compare to desktop users. Look at bounce rates, how many pages people visit, and how long they stay on your site. If there are big differences, especially in bounce rates, it suggests people are having different experiences on different devices. When mobile users are spending half the time on your site compared to desktop users, that’s a clear sign you need to make some improvements.
Remember, those mobile bounce rates affect your SEO performance too. Fix the user experience issues and you’ll see improvements in your search visibility as well.
Getting Your Mobile Site Right
Is my website mobile friendly? Mobile-friendly design isn’t something you can just tick off your to-do list and forget about. It’s essential for your website strategy, not just a nice-to-have feature. You’ve seen how to spot the common problems, test your site properly, and fix the issues that crop up most often.
Your mobile visitors want things to work smoothly. If your site loads quickly and looks good on their phones, they’ll stick around. But if they have to struggle with tiny buttons or wait ages for pages to load, they’ll be off to your competitor’s site before you know it.
The key thing to remember is that this isn’t a one-and-done job. You’ll need to keep an eye on how your site performs, test new content before it goes live, and check your analytics regularly. This ongoing attention pays off – not just because your visitors will have a better experience, but because Google rewards mobile-optimised sites with better rankings too.
Straightforward fixes for mobile website design
Good news though – you don’t need to rebuild your entire website from scratch. Many of the fixes we’ve talked about are actually quite straightforward. Switch to a responsive theme, make your buttons bigger, compress those heavy images. Small changes that make a big difference.
So what’s next? Pick one of the testing tools we’ve mentioned and run a check on your website today. See what issues come up, then start working through the fixes. Your mobile users will thank you for it with longer visits and more conversions.
Any questions at all about mobile optimisation, website performance, or getting your site mobile-ready? Book a meeting with us and let our experts get your website to perform better on mobile starting today!
