Google To Warn Visitors Of Broken Mobile Sites

Many websites run a separate web site to serve up a dedicated mobile-friendly site to visitors on tablets and smartphones.  This has largely been replaced in most cases by responsive design (changing the site layout on the fly based on the visitors device).  For sites still running a mobile only site, if a visitor clicks on a Google search result and the user is redirected to a separate mobile-friendly site (such as m.mycompany.com), the visitor will now have to acknowledge a pop up from Google asking you if you would like to “Try Anyway” since the site is redirecting to what Google sees as different website.

Converting a site to a responsive design can range from a small project to something larger depending on the site, its original coding and the features within the site, such as e-commerce or a custom user section of a website.

If your unsure of upgrading your site to a responsive layout, consider this:

  • 69% of tablet users have shopped via their device in the last 30 days
  • 48% of users aid that if a site didn’t work well on their smartphone, it made them feel like they company didn’t care about their business
  • 67% of users are more likely to purchase with a smartphone on a mobile friendly site than on a non-mobile optimized site

One way to help manage this is to be sure that you have Google’s Webmaster Tools setup for your domain to receive mobile detection issues regarding your site.  You can also contact our team at any time to have your site reviewed for these issues.