Google issues warning to mobile-unfriendly sites

Google has taken the step of issuing mass notifications to all website owners whose sites have not yet been optimised for mobile capabilities. This means that if your site is not yet adaptable for smartphone use, you may want to think about getting it upgraded to comply, or suffer the wrath of Google’s new plans.

Google has been sending these notifications through Google Webmaster and emails, suggesting that website owners “Fix Mobile Usability Issues” on their sites. These notifications go on to explain that these sites have “critical mobile usability” problems, and then describe the percentage of pages on your site that do not comply.

You can be assured that if you have received this message, it is likely that your website does not comply,and if you do not want to be penalised for this, it is a good idea to look into a responsive design.

These messages sent by Google are a clear indication that a new algorithm is about to be launched,one that makes sure that all websites, according to their mobile friendliness, are “displayed and ranked appropriately for smartphone users” on their search engine.

Google has been experimenting with this new algorithm since November of 2014. This change will have search results now indicating whether a site is “mobile friendly”, and will penalise each site’s ranking on smartphones if this is not the case.

The way to make sure your site is not penalised, is by making your website responsive.

A responsive design is achieved by using new methods of coding that allow your web page design to adjust to varying screens sizes. By using percentages and proportion based grids to allow a fluid movement of your pages, you are ensuring they respond effectively to each and every screen size.

With a multitude of screen sizes now available on a variety of smartphones, tablets and perhaps soon,watches, it has never been more necessary to ensure that your website is seen as attractive and user friendly on any device.

As a business, you simply cannot afford to rank poorly on devices that are now used as online tools everyday, everywhere, by an increasing majority of the population.

With Google now incorporating what is most surely an essential algorithm in today’s world of mobile technology, it is necessary to optimise your current site’s mobile responsiveness, or in turn, make sure that your new site has responsive design capabilities.