Mobile Friendly vs Mobile Optimized Websites

Did you know that now over half of all internet users browse the web from something other than their computers? This includes things like smart phones, tablets, and gaming systems.

Here’s another staggering fact.

Did you know that there are now more people in the world with cell phones, than toilets? (Time Magazine)

Now here in North America we’re fortunate to have a fantastic plumbing system, but what this still means is that if your website isn’t currently optimized for your mobile customers, it’s sending a pretty powerful (negative) message that your business either doesn’t understand, or doesn’t care about the current marketing landscape.

Neither of which are good for business.

The difference between being Mobile Friendly and Mobile Optimized

Ever since April of 2015 when Google announced Mobilegeddon or Mobipocolypse people have been tossing around terms like mobile friendly, or mobile optimized.

But is there a difference?

Indeed there is and it has to do with achieving a minimum standard, or designing a user friendly experience thats pleasing to both customers, and search engines.

Mobile Friendly – Not really that friendly

Mobile friendly simply means that a website has passed the Google Mobile Test. This means it’s made some effort to recognize that people now view websites on their phones and have integrated a bit of code to make sure it will work.

What it doesn’t mean however is that the website was designed to look, feel, and work just as well, if not even better, on a mobile device as it would on a standard desktop computer.

Mobile Optimized – Super Friendly

When a website is mobile optimized it means that it’s not only mobile friendly (and therefore passes the necessary Google tests) but that it’s also been designed and optimized for both large desktop screens, and a variety of smaller screen sizes like smartphones and tablets.

This kind of website looks good and works great on all devices and snaps into place to meet a variety of different screen sizes.

They’re easier to use, navigate, and most importantly, to help guide potential customers and hep them get whatever information they need to make a buying decision.

Conclusion

In 2015 if your website isn’t mobile optimized it’s sending the wrong message to your current and potential customers. Step 1 is to run it through the Google Test Tool here, and then step 2 is to ask someone else to view it on their smartphone and give you their honest opinion on how easy it is to find what they’re looking for. The good news is, a new website is only a click away.