How are you viewing this post today? I don’t mean ‘what browser are you using?’, I’m interested in what device you are viewing this post from. If I’d asked this question just a handful of years ago, it would have been a fair bet that you were using a desktop or laptop computer and that might well still be the case today. However, now there are more options for you to choose from: tablet, smart phone, smart TV, games console, the list is growing. The point is, the options today for internet browsing are many and varied, especially when compared with trends over the last decade.
With these movements in internet browsing, trends in website design must move also. The ‘classic’ website (and by classic, I’m really talking about sites designed within the last ten years) had a standard width of 960 pixels (the little squares that make up the pictures on our devices’ screens). This width was generally accepted as the standard resolution of the majority of screens in those days. Before long, wide-screen monitors began to fall into common use and as developers it was up to us to accommodate these wider resolutions. Again, the commonly accepted practice was to keep the sites using a fixed width of 960 pixels, which on wider screens would become a fixed central column. Now we had websites that looked good both on ‘standard’ and wide displays.
In recent years, however, developers have faced a problem coming from two separate directions; the screens that internet consumers are using to access the internet have begun to grow and shrink at the same time. On desktop computers, screens are getting wider, whilst the onset of the smart phone has allowed people to access the internet in the palm of their hand. For a while, the ‘central column’ approach continued to be the norm on the ever-widening screens, although more and more this results in plenty of wasted space:
On mobile screens however, the result was varied and often unsatisfactory. Occasionally, the site would appear in it’s life-size form, resulting in a particularly unsatisfying user experience:
More often than not, the smart phones live up to their names and scale the website for you, so that you get to see a little more than Green Lantern’s boot.
This is ok on a very simple site, such as in our example. However, when a site had a bit more content, such as a sidebar, the result is something that is virtually unreadable without some heavy-handed pinch zooming:
The Rise of the Mobile Site
As smart phones began to dominate the mobile market-place, it became apparent that more and more internet consumers were accessing websites from their mobile devices. The experience provided by sites such as the one in our example is the sort that sends users scurrying towards competitors with better sites. When Apple released their App store in July 2008, this opened the doors to companies such as Amazon, Facebook and eBay to provide an alternative to mobile browsing. These are more than just apps, they are a mobile-friendly window onto the existing website.
For a while, this seemed to solve the problem of mobile browsing. More and more businesses released apps to provide a fascia to their sites and with the introduction of the Android Marketplace, Blackberry App World and the Windows Phone Store the vast majority of mobile users were catered for.
But what of those companies for whom the creation of an app is not a viable option? There are a multitude of websites out there for which the creation of a mobile app simply doesn’t make sense practically or financially and so an alternative was needed. And so the mobile website was born.
The term ‘mobile web’ refers to the consumption of internet content via mobile devices. For a long time, companies wishing to take advantage of internet consumers who were accessing their content via the mobile web would produce (or commission the production of) a mobile version of their website. Web browsers on smart phones, detecting the existence of a mobile site will direct users to this version rather than the traditional desktop site. You can usually tell if you are on a mobile site due to the replacement of the more traditional ‘www’ by a simple ‘m’ in your browser’s address bar. Oftentimes a mobile site will be designed as a lightweight alternative to the full website experience, offering cut-down features, reduced (or removed) graphics and little else.
For a while, mobile sites became the norm as more consumers took to their mobiles for internet access. However, the reduced features and general user experience of most mobile sites often proves an infuriating experience for many users. Eventually, the major mobile browsers began to adopt a feature to allow users to force-load the desktop version of a site, rather than suffer the reduced functionality of a mobile site.
Responsive Web Design is Born
The origins of what has now become known as responsive web design can be traced back to 2004, although the process has been known by many names before it became the practice that we embrace today. In fact, despite being an 11-year-old concept, modern responsive design was only really coming to the fore in 2010 and it was the publication of Ethan Marcotte’s Responsive Web Design in 2011 that really brought it to the attention of mainstream web developers.
The concept of responsive web design is simple: no matter what size of device you view a website on, the features of the site will flexibly and fluidly change to fit. Finally there was some distinction between the user browsing their favourite sites on a 42” widescreen and those on a 3.5” iPhone, without the need to produce and provide different versions of the website.
There is an immediate cost advantage of responsive over mobile sites to the business owner, as only one site needs to be built rather than two. As for the mobile user, no longer would they have to put up with the reduced functionality of a mobile site.
Over time, as the proportion of users accessing the internet via mobile devices continued to increase, it became more apparent that responsive design on its own was not enough. Many developers and development platforms have as such started to adopt a ‘mobile first’ perspective on website design. What this means is that no longer are websites designed for the desktop user first, with mobile functionality as an afterthought, but rather it is the mobile browsing experience that takes first consideration.
Internet consumers have one thing in common: they are fickle when it comes to content that offers a poor user experience – and rightly so! In today’s modern technological landscape, a flick of the thumb can take us away from a website that offers such a poor experience and back to the Google search results that brought us there in the first place. In only a few heartbeats we can be landing on the website of a competitor offering a more satisfying user experience and who is therefore more likely to gain our business.
Enter Google
Whilst many businesses thrive on repeat custom, for most it is the attraction of new customers that is key to success. In today’s crowded marketplace, the customer has the semblance of control. In situations where customer loyalty isn’t a factor, a quick Google search will reveal countless businesses in every niche:
In the past there have been a variety of different ways to ensure that your business is in that coveted top spot; key words, relevant domain names, external mentions and back-links. You name it, it’s been an SEO strategy at one time or another.
In November 2014, however, Google announced its first move towards favouring sites that offered a mobile-friendly user experience when it began to roll out the ‘Mobile Friendly’ tag on its search results. Quite simply, if Google’s bots found evidence that your site is mobile responsive, then you would be given a small tag next to your site in search results proclaiming that you are ‘Mobile Friendly’. What this meant is that users looking for a particular product or service on their mobile didn’t even need to land on your page to know if they were going to be able to view it via their device.
At the same time, Google launched the mobile-friendly tool, where you can check to see if you would be allocated this coveted tag, which you can find at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
The Google bots (and the mobile-friendly test) check for the following criteria when determining if a site is mobile friendly.
The website:
- Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
- Uses text that is readable without zooming
- Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
- Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped
Mobilegeddon
On 21st April 2015, Google rolled out its latest algorithm update. Dubbed ‘Mobilegeddon’ by the internet at large, this was the next stage in Google’s battle for the cause of the mobile-friendly browsing experience. From this date, mobile friendliness and responsivity were given priority in the Google search index. This update saw unresponsive sites fall away from their top spots, replaced by those sites that were designed for modern internet consumers.
If you read the official Google documentation on Mobilegeddon, you will see that this algorithm only affects Google searches performed on mobile devices. You may think, therefore, that your unresponsive site is safe from Mobilegeddon and on desktop computers and laptops this may well be the case. However, when you consider the numbers of people today who are consuming internet content via their mobile device, you might change your mind:
[Figures courtesy of marketingland.com]
It is estimated that in 2014, approximately 2.23 billion internet users were accessing content via their mobile device at least some of the time [dezeinfo.com]. To put this and the chart above into perspective, let’s have a look at the comparison between internet consumers who primarily use a desktop to access the internet compared with those who use a mobile at least half of the time:
You may think that the Mobilegeddon update doesn’t affect your Google rankings, but if your website is not responsive, it really will.
It’s Not Too Late to Act
Google has stated plainly that great content still plays a huge role in their indexing of websites, which is why you won’t be beaten to the top spot by a beautiful site alone. But why take the risk that one of your competitors will take your place in the rankings with potentially inferior products or services, simply because their site has been brought up to date with modern web standards?
With HigherSites, you can be sure of hitting all the right notes with great content and a stunning, modern and (most importantly) mobile responsive website. Whether you are an existing client, or looking for a change, why not contact us today for a no obligations quote:
