You may have read this week on the BBC, or seen the coverage on Channel 4 News that Google are updating their algorithm so that websites which are “mobile-friendly” will appear higher in search results.        

We wanted to give our view on the update and on how it could affect your website. As a company we have been supporters of responsive websites for sometime, we always advise our clients to go down the path of building a responsive website. A responsive website’s layout will “respond” in size according to the size of the device you are using, from a smart phone with a three inch wide screen to a 27 inch iMac and everything in-between.

If your website performs badly or doesn’t work so well on a mobile device, then Google will effectively punish you. If Google doesn’t punish sites which don’t give a user the experience they want then trust in Google will decline, its as much about Google looking after itself as it is about any effort to change the landscape of web development.

How will I know if my website is affected?

The easy way to know if your website will be unaffected is to search for your website on Google and on a mobile device. If just under the top link for your website you can see the words ‘mobile-friendly’ then you’re OK.

Alternatively you can go to https//www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/ enter your url and it will tell you if they consider you mobile-friendly or not.  If your not, please feel free to get in touch and I will explain your options.