Optimize a WordPress Website for Mobile
Learn to optimize the WordPress website for mobile devices. Does your WordPress website meet the requirements of mobile users?
If not, then your website is at a loss!!
Certainly, no website can sustain itself if it is not mobile-friendly!!
With the increasing demand for mobile devices, it has become desirable that the website should have all the features that comply with mobile. Saying that- the website traffic mostly came from mobile devices is not wrong.
Mobile is steadily overpowering!! Hence, if your business fully depends on your website then it has to be optimized correctly on mobile devices.
Above all, Google gives preference to those websites that are mobile-optimized.
Optimization here does not mean that your website layout is flexible enough to fit into the small screen to appeal to the visitors. But, it should be easily accessible, fast, and created particularly for screens of all sizes.
How do you consider the website to be mobile-friendly?
Installing only the responsive themes is not enough, it is more than that!!
Considering that, we are here to reveal what exactly it intends to have a mobile-friendly website and what measures you can follow to convert your WordPress website to mobile-friendly.
So, get ready to crack it all!! Check out!!
Tips to Optimize a WordPress Website for a Mobile Devicemis-configured
# Do not Overlook the General SEO Mistakes
Google is always there to assist website owners in boosting mobile SEO. Understanding some issues cannot be overlooked. So, consider Google Search Console to rectify them. Also, ensure that you are not practicing the misconfigured sitemap or robots.txt file to block Google from website access.
Find out the broken links or inadequate redirects that are affecting mobile responsiveness. Yoast SEO is the best to identify some errors and to boost your website ranking. Also, if the app downloads interstitials or pops-up are used, then ensure that it is not hindering the mobile screen. Rather than this, use the deactivated pop-ups and less intrusive banners for the mobiles.
# Enable Google Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
AMP is an open-source framework implemented by Google to improve the loading speed of the WordPress website on smartphones. Undeniably, the slow website speed is not tolerable to the users and they prefer to shift to other fast-loading websites. So, there is a quick requirement to optimize your WordPress website with AMP for the optimal mobile user experience.
What AMP does is- checks out all the web pages and filter those that are slowing down the speed, delete their code, and make the changes. The key benefits of Implementing AMP are:
- Improvement in the conversion rate.
- AMP fastens the speed of pages to 85%.
- The average time of loading AMP is less than one second.
- Higher your website ranking on search engines.
# Choose the Right Images
Using an excess of images or using large images on your WordPress website can slow down its speed.
Hence, you must make wise decisions while choosing the images. The images should be mobile-friendly so that it does not get cluttered or blurry on the websites.
You can reduce their size or compress them without even harming the website’s quality. Several premium and free solutions are there to assist you, the TinyPNG tool and ShortPixel plugin are some of the best.
Also, we recommend you use the RICG Responsive Image plugin for the optimal images. It fits the images perfectly in the mobiles by shrinking them before uploading them on a suitable server. EWWW Image Optimizer and WP Smush can also be used for the same.
# Pick the Mobile Responsive Theme
There are chances that your WordPress website appears well on desktops but not on mobile devices. Hence, you must choose a responsive theme.
It guarantees that your WordPress website works appropriately on mobile devices despite the size. The mobile, responsive theme offers you the best user experience seamlessly while browsing the website.
Every WordPress theme nowadays, either free or premium is responsive and ensures a more agile website load time and the best user viewing experience. So, if even now, you are not leveraging the responsive WordPress theme then, get it now.
# Avoid Pop-ups Windows
It is terrible to browse the windows and navigate in several tabs on mobile devices. All this gives rise to the slow loading speed of your WordPress website. So, it is better to avoid pop-up windows. Also, recently, Google has unleashed some pop-up penalties to make the user engage in your website.
These are some roles that the pop-up should adhere to. Precisely, there are some facts that you have to follow while configuring the pop-ups.
- The pop-up should be unobstructed.
- Dismissing the pop-ups should be easy and apparent.
- A pop-up with important data is exempt
The mentioned guidelines are not applied to age verification forms, login dialogs, or some different pop-up windows with general information.
# Use White Space
For mobile responsiveness, the white space or negative space plays a crucial role. While optimizing the WordPress website for mobiles, usually, we add the possible information, but you need to resist that urge. Let the white space work.
It is the space in the columns, between the figures and lines, that comforts the visitor’s eye. Using the white space, you can experience the sophisticated and simple mobile design. It manages the space within the gutters, margins, and graphics and gives your WordPress website a mobile responsive appearance.
# Get your WordPress Website Tested for Mobile-friendliness
Now, your WordPress website complies with the above measures. We recommend you test your website for mobile-friendliness now. As Google is always there as a helping hand, now, it has offered testing tools to check whether the website is mobile-ready.
You just need to use your website URL put it on the search bar, and then just hit the button. It will show if something is wrong with website optimization or not. So, it will be better if you will perform the curative action. It can also find out if the website theme is mobile-friendly or not.
Concluding Remarks
Above, we have discussed the tried and tested ways to optimize WordPress Websites for mobile users. Before updating, it is better to analyze your website on desktop and, of course, on mobile and do not leave any stone unturned.
Give the best user experience and do not hurt your website by incorporating the inessential elements. Needless to say – WordPress has every solution to every problem. Use it for the best and stay ahead.
Hopefully, this article will give you the best benefits and help in optimizing your WordPress website.
If you have any queries, ask in the comment section below. Do share your opinion with us!!
Thank you for reading!!
Author Bio:
Marie Thomas is an IT enthusiast with 7+ years of experience in developing WordPress websites. Currently, she is associated with WordSuccor – a WordPress development company in the USA. She loves to keep abreast of the latest technologies and tools in the corporate market and believes in sharing knowledge gained through experience. Connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.