Responsive Website Design | Wieting Design

Everything You Need To Know for Google’s "Mobile First" Indexing.

February 9, 2017 by Cindy Wieting

From the moment we wake up in the morning, we’re checking our phones for the forecast, reading emails, checking our calendar and so on. Mobile phones are an integral part of our daily routine and now Google wants to reward websites that consider mobile users first. Until now, Google has indexed web pages as desktop browsers see them. With the new ‘mobile first’ approach, Google indexes web pages as mobile phones see them. The rankings will be calculated based on the mobile websites. What does this mean for your website?

Here’s everything you need to know for Google’s Mobile Indexing:

Do you have a mobile site? – Mobile websites will be given preferential treatment; but, the desktop version of the crawlers will not be abandoned. It will still crawl your desktop version if you don’t have a mobile website. Please keep in mind that mobile optimized websites will get more visibility and traffic, so give us a call if you don’t have a mobile site.

Are you serving a separate mobile site? – Simplified mobile sites are not going to make the cut. You’ll need to make sure that your mobile website looks similar to your desktop website and that your mobile pages contain enough content to rank your pages. If your mobile pages have less content than your desktop pages, your pages might get lower rankings with Google’s new ‘mobile first’ index.

What about tabs, accordions, & expandable content? – Previously, compressing content into a read more link or hidden container resulted in that content not getting indexed by Google. With this ‘mobile first’ Index, things have changed. Expandable content makes much more sense on a mobile platform because of limited screen space and will now count count towards SEO.

Will Google keep the desktop indexing? – For now yes. However, all signs are pointing to Google moving towards one index, the Mobile Index.

What if I don’t have a separate mobile site? – Hopefully this means you’ve worked with a web design agency that created a mobile-responsive website design. This means you have one website site that adapts to whatever device it’s viewed on whether tablets, mobile phones, or a desktop browser. If you’re not sure, visit Google’s mobile-friendly test site or contact us for a free consult.

If you don’t have a dedicated mobile site or a responsive design, now is the time to get one. You won’t become invisible in the new mobile index, but you also won’t rank as well as you could have. Remember that these efforts are not just for indexing (SEO) purposes, but also for mobile users. The majority of users search on mobile. Google is prioritizing mobile sites that make it easier for users to find what they’re actually looking for, and discover high quality, valuable content and resources.

If you’re not sure if your site is mobile friendly or optimized for the ‘mobile first’ index, give us a call for a free consultation at 203- 414-9692

3 Reasons Why You Need a Responsive Navigation Menu

January 18, 2017 by Cindy Wieting

Brands are recognizing there’s no need for two separate websites. The trend now is to create a responsive website that will work seamlessly on any mobile device, tablet, laptop, or desktop screen and is designed to adjust to meet the user’s needs. But, In order to ensure that your mobile visitors’ aren’t frustrated while surfing your web pages, it is vital to provide them a fully-functional menu that is easy-to-use.

3 Reasons to Use a Mobile Responsive Navigation Menu

Better Usability – Although smartphones have the ability to zoom by ‘pinching’ or the double-tap, as well as other functions to help browsing non-responsive websites, navigation and legibility can still be difficult. Mobile users are more likely to use sites that are designed for mobile use instead of those that simply display a desktop version on mobile devices.
More Conversions – According to Moz, a leading SEO company, UK based eCommerce company Offspring saw an increase of over 15% in mobile conversions, accompanied by a year-on-year increase in mobile revenue of over 100%.
SEO Benefits – Since 2015, Google has been encouraging developers and businesses to prioritize mobile versions of their sites. Since April 2015, Google announced that mobile friendly websites would rank better on mobile search results pages than websites that were not mobile-friendly. Now Google is adding another new algorithm change that prefers one responsive website for every type of platform.

Design is not full of rules, but rather guidelines for creating wonderful ideas. In web design these ideas need to be usable and easy to interpret on any screen. Your mobile responsive navigation menu should be easy to locate and understand, organized so users don’t have to search around for content, and look like a natural extension of your site’s desktop version. Nested levels of navigation are not always the best choice for a mobile website. With so many web users now visiting on smartphones and tablets, expecting them to use your old, desktop navigation is simply not a viable option.

Wieting Design | CT Website Design

Are you ready for a mobile responsive site or unsure if your mobile menu is responsive? Give us a call for a free consultation at 203 414 9692.

WHY RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN?

February 18, 2014 by Cindy Wieting

Why Every Business Should Consider Responsive Design.

Are you looking for a way to make your website more engaging to visitors? There is one important thing to remember. If a percentage of your web visitors access your website from a mobile device and your site only caters to Desktop users, you might want to consider making your website design responsive.

Here’s why…

According to Forbes, 87% of adults in the USA have a mobile phone. That’s not surprising. It seems like everyone you run into has a mobile phone. Here’s where the details get interesting… 45% of those adults have a Smartphone and 90% use it to access the Internet. In addition, we spend 1.4 hours daily ‘online’ with a wireless device (iPhone, Android, iPad, tablet).

Approximately, 74% of mobile users will leave a website if it takes longer than 5 seconds to pull up. Why are we throwing around so many statistics? We want to stress the importance of having a website that caters to ALL devices. More importantly, we want to help you succeed online.

Is Having an Attractive Web Design Sufficient?

It is true that having a visually appealing website will make a great first impression. However, if your site is hard to access or navigate from a mobile phone, people will abandon your website. Many mobile users have left websites and visited competing sites due to usability issues. Business owners have lost potential sales due to not having a mobile-friendly website.

The point here is, unless your ‘entire’ customer base lives in a remote village, where they only have access to Desktop computer technology, having a responsive website is necessary.

What is Responsive Design?

Responsive design immediately responds to the user’s behavior based on the platform, orientation and screen size. In plain English, a responsive website changes the layout and appearance of a website based on the size of the screen. In other words, it makes it a lot easier to read from a mobile device. So, whether a visitor enters your site from an iPhone, Android or tablet, the site will automatically adjust to make it user-friendly for the person viewing the website.

It’s Not a Fad

At one time, many people believed that Responsive Design was just another fad. Today, small business owners and large corporations are finally realizing the importance of having a mobile-friendly website. In addition, responsive design is also great for SEO.

The Difference Between a Mobile Site & Responsive Design

A few years ago, mobile developers were designing mobile websites separate from a Desktop version. You would have a separate URL, such as: m.yoursitename.com. With a responsive website, you don’t need a separate URL. Mobile users simply log onto your website and the screen automatically adjusts to the device they are using. It makes a person’s web experience a lot easier.

Having a responsive design is good for business because it makes your visitors browsing experience a lot more enjoyable.

If you need a responsive design for a new or an existing website, contact us or call: 203.259.8913.

Wieting Design | Responsive Website Design