There are many mistakes that are made when designing and developing a mobile web, however, with the latest changes in Google’s algorithm, with which the search engine has begun to consider some aspects of web usability, it has become really important to know the point of view of the same. One of the issues on which it is placing greater emphasis are those technical errors that it has seen repeated on many occasions and that it has wanted to highlight. We tell you about them below and give you hints on how to solve them:
Common mistakes that Google says are made in mobile versions
- JavaScript, CSS and images blocked
For different circumstances, it could happen that you have blocked access to the different elements of your website that could allow Google to correctly access the mobile version. To check that this is NOT the case, you can use the Google Search Console [former Webmaster Tools] tools “Explore as Google” and “Check Robots.txt”.
- Content that cannot be reproduced
The fact that some content is not displayed on mobile devices is one of the main reasons why users abandon it. A clear example is videos that work through Flash, a technology that 4 years ago was widely used, but that nowadays few mobile devices play. The solution to this problem is quite simple: use HTML5, a programming standard that plays on any device. If this is not possible, you can always upload your videos to channels such as Vimeo or YouTube and insert the code provided. As a last or complementary solution, Google recommends adding transcription. This can be a good solution that improves the accessibility of your site and will also help you with the SEO of your videos.
- Incorrect redirects
This error occurs when you have chosen to have different URLs for the desktop and mobile version. Some webmasters decide to always redirect to the home page of the mobile version instead of the version of the page where the User is. This error is very common and also occurs in multi-language sites, where when changing the language on a page, instead of taking the User to the same page where he/she is, but in another language, he/she is taken to the home page of the selected language. This does not make sense, don’t you think? Every desktop page should always redirect to its mobile equivalent O_O
As Google suggests, in case a page of the site does not have an equivalent mobile version, it is best to keep users on the desktop page and not redirect them to the main page of the mobile site. And if not, set up a responsive website…
In order to detect redirects that do not work properly, there are many tools, however, the simplest and also free is Google’s Webmaster Tools. It has a section, “mobile crawl errors”, which will show us all the errors detected by the search engine’s robot.
- Mobile 404 errors
If the same desktop page does not exist for mobile, the best solution is to take you to an equivalent, NOT show a 404 error. And if there is no equivalent, it is best to keep showing the desktop version.
To find out which pages of our site are giving 404 errors, it is best to resort, again, to Google’s Webmaster Tools.
- Pop ups for downloading applications
Using “interstitials” windows that cover the entire mobile screen is not a good idea and even less if it is to display advertising. It bothers and frustrates the user. Instead, it is advisable to use banners or other advertising models that combine the need for communication and business profitability with the usability of the site.
- Irrelevant link exchange
It is normal, as a measure to improve usability, to present on websites a button to switch from the desktop version to the mobile version and vice versa. But sometimes, these links do not point to the correct page, for example pointing to the home page of the desktop version. This is closely related to incorrect redirects, being a very similar error.
As a solution, Google proposes that we check all these links. Classic SEO tools that crawl the website’s broken links could help us to detect internal links that are not correct. For example, Screaming Frog.
- Slow mobile pages
If the speed of page loading is important when browsing from LAN and wireless networks, when the user is browsing from a cell phone, this speed is even more important. This is due to the fact that mobile connections are generally much slower nowadays and have limitations on the part of the operators. Therefore, it is vital to make mobile websites that are light and load very fast. According to Google, any waiting time longer than 1 second makes the person lose the thread and the user experience is not optimal.
To check the loading speed of our page, we have several options:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Google Analytics, which integrates information on load times in the “Behavior” section.
