Here’s a quick test you can do right now. Take out your phone, open the browser, and pull up your own website. Not on your office computer, on your phone, the way most customers will see it.
For a lot of local businesses, a big share of website visitors are on their phones. They’re standing in a kitchen with a leak, sitting in a parking lot, or waiting in line. They want an answer fast and a way to reach you without hassle.
What to check
How fast does it load?
Count in your head from the moment you tap to the moment you can actually read the page. Try it on cellular data, not just your office Wi-Fi. If you find yourself waiting and waiting, customers are too, and some of them will give up and go back to search.
Can you find the phone number right away?
Look at the top of the page without scrolling. Is your phone number there? If someone has to dig through menus or scroll to the very bottom to find it, you’re making them work harder than they should.
Can you tap it to call?
Tap your phone number. Does your phone offer to call it? It should. A phone number that’s just plain text, or worse, part of an image, forces people to remember it and type it in. Many won’t.
Is the call button within reach?
Think about how people hold their phones: usually in one hand, using their thumb. A clear “Call” button near the top of the screen, or one that stays visible as they scroll, makes it easy. Tiny links squeezed between other links are easy to miss or mis-tap.
Can you read it without zooming?
Text should be large enough to read comfortably. Buttons should be big enough to tap. If you’re pinching and zooming, something isn’t set up for mobile.
Do pop-ups get in the way?
A pop-up that covers the whole screen on a phone, with a tiny “X” that’s hard to hit, is a quick way to lose a visitor. If you use pop-ups, make sure they’re easy to close on a small screen, or skip them on mobile.
Common reasons a site is slow on phones
- Huge images. Photos uploaded straight from a camera can be much bigger than they need to be.
- Too many plugins or add-ons. Each one can add a little weight.
- Auto-playing videos or big sliders at the top of the page.
- Older hosting that struggles to keep up.
If you want a more technical look, Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool will test your page and point out what’s slowing it down. You don’t need to understand every item. The overall picture is useful on its own.
Ask someone else to try it
You know your website well, so you’ll naturally find things faster than a stranger would. Hand your phone to a friend or family member and say, “Find our phone number and call us.” Watch what they do. It’s one of the most honest tests there is.
Make it a habit
Websites change over time. A new plugin, a big photo, a redesign of one page. Every so often, take a minute to repeat this check. It’s easy, it’s free, and it keeps you seeing your business the way customers do.