Is It Better to Go Mobile-Only With Your Website?
Ever since Google Announced its unofficially nicknamed “Mobilegeddon” update earlier this year, online marketers have been wondering what the future of mobile devices — and user behavior — will be. As it stands right now, mobile devices are of clear and priority importance, but desktop visits are also important (for the tiny minority without mobile devices as well as modern luddites resistant to changing trends). Google’s latest update prioritized sites with a “mobile version” for mobile users, but if future trends dictate that eventually desktop searches and web navigation will become obsolete, is it better to go mobile only with your site?
Google’s Rules on Mobile
Google isn’t very picky when it comes to mobile optimization. It gave webmasters ample warning about the Mobilegeddon update, and even offered a free tool for you to check whether or not your site is mobile friendly. In order to pass the test, all pages of a site must be mobile friendly — but all that really means is that your pages must show up clearly on mobile devices when accessed.
There are several different ways to do this. For example, you could simply make your site “responsive” and have it automatically stack and adjust based on the type of device and screen size that are viewing it. You could host separate mobile and desktop versions of your site and redirect traffic to the appropriate version, or you could default to one version, and redirect traffic to an alternative version on a separate subdomain. In the eyes of Google, all these methods are equally sufficient. Responsive design is, in my opinion, the easiest to manage and the best long-term solution, but all Google cares about is that your mobile users aren’t alienated. If any of your pages are deemed to be not mobile friendly, you could have less search visibility on both mobile and desktop searches.
Other factors, like site speed and image format, can factor into a site’s mobile friendliness as well. Again, the more you can offer your users in terms of mobile experience, the better.
The Changing Trend
Back in May of 2015, it became official. For years, mobile traffic was creeping up toward desktop territory, but May was the first time Google formally announced that mobile traffic had actually overtaken desktop traffic. This was a largely anticipated milestone, but it clearly and objectively demonstrated that the growing mobile trend wasn’t just in our imaginations.
Of course, mobile isn’t stopping there. It is continuing to grow in relation to desktop traffic. It may one day completely take over all forms of online traffic, or may hit a peak where the vast majority of traffic is mobile and a minority of slow adopters continue to cling to desktop devices. Either way, mobile searches and web browsing is likely to continue growing until it becomes critically dominant.
Google’s Stance on Mobile Only Sites
Recently, Google’s own John Mueller responded to a question regarding the notion of a mobile-only site. In his own words, “You definitely do not need a specific desktop website in addition to a mobile website.” All that matters is that desktop users are still able to see your content — if that content is formatted to be viewed with a mobile device, it doesn’t matter. Basically, all sites should favor mobile devices naturally, and if your site offers a custom desktop version as well, that’s just icing on the cake.
The Critical Question
So now we know that it isn’t necessary to have both a desktop and a mobile version of your site, and that Google is fine if you go mobile-only. Does that mean it’s actively better to go mobile-only?
Offering your site only in a mobile format isn’t going to do any extra good for your business. It isn’t going to increase your rankings or make your customers much happier. Mobile users are going to see a mobile version regardless of whether you have a dual approach or a mobile-only approach, and desktop users won’t miss out on much if you do go mobile-only.
The question then becomes one of convenience. If you’re currently trying to manage two separate versions of your website, it may be in your best interest to default to the mobile version and forget about the desktop version. It could save you some time and headaches without interfering with your overall user experience or search rankings. On the other hand, if you already have a responsively designed site that flexes automatically to any type of device viewing it, there’s no reason to design a new site that exists only in a mobile format. You already have a one-size fits all format.
Even though the trend of mobile traffic is likely only to increase compared to desktop traffic, there’s no advantage to having a mobile-only site in the foreseeable future. That being said, if you’re currently juggling two different versions of a site, you can rest easy knowing you won’t be penalized for dropping one of them.
It’s also worth noting that while mobile does represent the future as we conceive of it right now, the distant future of online interaction and technology could be beyond our understanding. At some point, devices may not even enter the equation. Because of this, it’s prudent not to get too hung up on future predictions — instead, focus on what you can optimize right now. Worry about the rest when it starts becoming relevant.
