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Within the last few months, Google has announced that it will be changing its algorithm to rank mobile-optimized websites higher than ones that aren’t as mobile-friendly. This will be taking effect next month, and if your business’ website isn’t prepared, you could see a significant drop in website traffic.

And this isn’t just a big issue for SEO: more than half of all web users today are browsing websites on mobile devices. This means your overall user experience for your online customers matters now more than ever before.

If you aren’t sure if your website is up to the proper standards, here’s how to check for mobile-responsiveness.

First: Understanding Mobile-Friendly Design

Have you ever stumbled across a website on your phone or tablet that looks like a tiny version of what it looks like on desktop? Many websites that are not mobile-friendly require users to “zoom in” (as if you were expanding an image on your phone) in order to read information or make the buttons appear big enough to click on with a finger.

In contrast, websites that are mobile-friendly or responsive have a unique design that fits well on smaller devices. The text will appear at an appropriate size, the buttons are big enough to select, and the navigation menu is clear and easy to use without you having to search for it.

Using Google’s Test

One of the easiest tools available out there is the Mobile-Friendly Test provided by Google. Simply enter your website’s URL and the test will be completed within a minute or two.

Then you’ll see “a screenshot of how the page looks to Google on a mobile device, as well as a list of any mobile usability problems that it finds.”

If your results say that it has no loading issues and is mobile-friendly, you’re good to go!

Or Try it For Yourself

Another way to test for mobile-responsiveness is to visit the website on your own mobile device(s).

Try loading your website on your iPhone or Android device and see how it functions. Can you explore the website easily? Does it load quickly? Is the text legible?

You might even double-check by borrowing phones or tablets from friends or family to see how your website appears on different devices and browsers.

What to Do if Your Website Isn’t Responsive

Whether you had less-than-stellar results on Google’s mobile test or you saw for yourself that your website is indeed not mobile-friendly, no need to panic!

Instead, work on tackling the problem at the source. Start your free trial on liveBooks today! liveBooks offers mobile-responsive, customizable website templates for creative professionals and businesses worldwide.

The best part? Our website designs are ready for search engines and look great on any mobile device!

We’ve also got a top-notch support team who’s here to help you every step of the way. Start for free here.

Over a year ago, Google announced it was rolling out a new mobile-first index where the algorithms will primarily use the mobile version of a website’s content to rank its pages. Now, according to Search Engine Land, Google plans to move more sites to mobile-first index in the coming months.

What Does This Mean for Your Website?

Google wants its index and results to represent the majority of their users — who are mobile searchers. So, Google will now place value on mobile pages when indexing a site and determining its position on search results.

Once Google sets the change in motion, websites that do not have mobile-friendly designs will likely see significantly reduced search engine traffic.

liveBooks is Ready for Google’s Mobile-Index

Google developers haven’t set a specific date, but they expect to begin rolling out their mobile-first index this year. We are proud to say that all liveBooks websites are fully-responsive. Regardless of screen size, your website will adjust its width and features such as text and images to optimize its mobile visibility.

If you haven’t started using liveBooks yet, start your free trial and begin creating your beautiful, fully-responsive website today!

Additional Resources:

Search Engine Land FAQ: All about the Google mobile-first index

TechCrunch Google’s mobile-first search index has rolled out to a handful of sites