Is your website frustrating people on their phones?

Think about the last time you looked something up while standing in a parking lot, waiting in line or sitting on a porch. Chances are you did it on your phone.

That is how many of your visitors will meet your organization too. A website that looks fine on an office computer can be frustrating on a small screen, and people rarely tell you. They just leave.

Try it yourself in five minutes

Pick up your own phone, open your website, and try to do the things a visitor would want to do.

Read the homepage. Can you read the text without zooming? Does anything run off the edge of the screen?

Find your contact details. How many taps does it take to find your phone number or address? Can you tap the number to call?

Find your hours or your next event. Can you tell, within a few seconds, when and where?

Fill out a form. Is the form easy to complete with your thumbs? Does the keyboard cover the field you are typing in? Do you receive a confirmation?

Try to donate, register or request a quote. If your site has a main goal, test it on the phone from start to finish.

Try it on a slower connection. Turn off Wi-Fi and use mobile data. How long does the first page take to appear?

Common problems

• Tiny text that needs pinching and zooming
• Buttons and links too close together to tap
• Large images that take forever to load
• Menus that are hard to open or use
• Phone numbers that are plain text instead of tappable
• Forms that are awkward on a small screen
• Pop-ups that are difficult to close

What to fix first

If you can only fix a few things, start with the ones closest to your goals:

1. Make your phone number and address easy to find and tap.
2. Make sure the main action works smoothly, whether that is giving, registering or asking for a quote.
3. Improve speed. Smaller images and simpler pages make a big difference.
4. Make text readable without zooming.

When patching is not enough

Sometimes a site was never designed with phones in mind, and the problems run deeper than a few quick fixes. That is usually a sign of a design built years ago for a different kind of screen. In that case a redesign, with the phone treated as the primary screen, is often the better investment. We call this designing phone-first.

If you would like a second opinion, our Website Checkup includes looking at your website on a phone. Or read more about website design and redesign.