Is your Joomla website mobile friendly? If not then you need to make it a priority to ensure it is mobile ready.
The way people access and view websites has changed alot. In the past people visited websites using one device which was normally a laptop or desktop computer but all this has now changed.
People now visit and view websites using multiple devices including computers, tablets and smart phones which is why it is so important to provide your website visitors with the best possible user experience across all devices.
Why should you make your website mobile ready for website visitors
- You want to give website visitors the best possible user experience across all device screen sizes including computers, tablets and smart phones.
- According to Nielsen 80 percent of U.S. teens 14 to 17 own smartphones and more than 90 percent of them use them to watch videos and search the web online.
- According to Google 90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal, whether that’s on smartphones, PCs, tablets or TV.
- Data from Adobe state Tablet users spend 50% more than PC users.
- In April 2015 Google announced that they are rolling out a algorithm update to reward mobile friendly websites in the search engine listings. They have also introduced mobile friendly labels which appear next to websites when you search for something in using a smart phone device.
- The latest version of Joomla 3 is by default mobile ready.
- Web site visitors expect to see a website automatically adapt to the device screen size they are using.
How to check if your website is responsive
You can easily check to see if your website is responsive by visiting the Google mobile friendly test website.
All you have to do is complete the following simple steps
- Enter your URL of your website.
- The tool will then complete a scan of your website to confirm if it's mobile ready or not.
- If your website passes the test you should get the message "Awesome! This page is mobile-friendly"
- If the website does not pass the test you will get feedback on how you can fix the technical issues.
Google web master tool also has a mobile usability feature built into the search tool console which allows you to complete more advanced testing on your website to highlight and fix any issues which may be impacting the website.
Tips for making your website mobile ready
- We recommend you use the latest stable version of Joomla 3.
- Install a responsive Joomla template at your website. We have designed a number of mobile friendly Joomla templates which are available for download at the website.
- If you have installed a 3rd party extension or module we recommend you check with the developer of the extension or module to confirm if it's responsive.
- Make sure you have updated the Joomla robots.txt file to ensure it's not blocking Google or Bing serarch enigines from crawling the /templates/ or /media/ directory.
- Read the Google developers webmaster's mobile guide
Conclusion
As mentioned above the way people access and view websites has completely changed.
People now have multiple devices including computers, smart phones and tablets which they use to view and access websites. It is essential that you have a responsive website to deliver the best possible user experience to your visitors across all the devices noted above.
If you don't have a responivse websire your competitors will and you may lose sales and risk losing your position in the search engine listings.
