Why it's important
Mobile is the way of the future. Google now processes more searches from mobile devices than from desktop and have developed mobile first indexing, which means that Google will create and rank search listings based on the mobile version of content, even for listings that are produced for desktop users.
Whether or not your site is mobile friendly is a major ranking signal for mobile search results. It's incredibly important for your users as well: The majority of mobile users will abandon a site that isn't mobile friendly for a competitor’s that is.
Designing your site to display on all screens sizes, using the right font size and making buttons touch screen ready are all part of making your site ready for mobile users
Getting it done
The first part of a mobile friendly page is load time. Google's criteria for a mobile friendly page is to load above the fold content in one second or less. After taking the normal process of loading a webpage into account, you've actually only got about 400 milliseconds that you can do anything about. Optimize your page speed by:
- Minimizing image size: Don't rely on HTML to resize your images - that just changes their dimensions. Use an image editor like Photoshop to reduce the size of your image files.
- Use browser caching: Reduce the number of HTTP requests with caching. Use expire headers and cache-control headers to tell browsers that images, stylesheets and CSS are cacheable.
- Reduce/eliminate redirects: Some redirects are unavoidable. But remember, every redirect is a new HTTP request, which adds to users' wait time.
- Render in the first connection: New TCP connections are unable to use the full bandwidth of the connection, so the server is limited to 10 or fewer packets. This means your ATF content needs to be 14Kb or less. Keep your server fully up to date or you could be limited to 3 or 4 packets!
- Accelerated Mobile Pages: Consider using the AMP protocol. Developed by Google, AMP uses special HTML and a dedicated cache to load pages nearly instantly.
Make sure your site is also optimized for mobile user experience:
- Avoid Flash, Silverlight and other plugins. They look nice, but mobile browsers don't support them. Use HTML5 for special effects instead.
- Make your base font size 16. Any smaller and users will struggle to read your body text without zooming - a major source of frustration. Stick with mobile friendly fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Times/Times New Roman or Verdana.
- Keep touchscreens in mind. Missed or accidental clicks enrage users, so make your tap targets big enough with at least 48 pixels on all sides as a cushion.
- Structure your site so it's easy to get around and consume content. 40% of mobile users will leave your site if they can't navigate easily. Limit the amount of information on your landing page to your CTA and messaging encouraging them to convert. Remember, the point of mobile search is to immediately complete a goal on the landing page.