With Google’s dropping of the ‘Mobile Friendly’ label within search results, we take a look at what the mobile phenomenon has destroyed.

As we know, most online browsing today is carried out on a mobile device. This shift from desktop to mobile has brought many changes with it and as such has made many online aspects and trends virtually obsolete. It was a shift that was also very rapid. Google introduced the ‘Mobile Friendly’ label to search engine results pages in November 2014 to show mobile users sites that were suited to their devices. Now they have announced plans to remove the label a mere two years later to declutter the results page. But we know it is really because the label is no longer needed, mobile dominates.

Remember QR Codes?

QR codes still exist, but their use has become limited. Primarily, scanning them on a mobile device would bring the user to a mobile version of a website or mobile-specific content to interact with. But with the rise of mobile use, every website should be optimized for mobile devices. Simply going to the website via a search engine will bring the user to a mobile-friendly website. Therefore downloading an app to scan a code became completely unnecessary in the journey to reaching mobile content.

Websites’ Mobile Versions

Before the dominance of mobile browsing, many websites had desktop websites and different mobile websites. The mobile website was usually a watered-down version of the main desktop website and retained the core features. Nowadays, proper websites are built to be mobile responsive to render and work on both desktop and mobile devices. Therefore a separate mobile website is pointless, the single website design should adapt and be responsive to the device that it is loaded on. Regardless of this, some websites today still have separate desktop and mobile websites – although they are becoming extinct.

Click Here to Enter

This feature made no real sense in terms of usability even on desktop websites, so thankfully mobile has started to care about it. Some websites were built in such a way that before reaching the homepage, users would be greeted with a sparse page that would say “Click here to enter www.example.com”. This was a virtually unnecessary and annoying step of the user journey that had no real benefit to website visitors. If anything, this click-to-enter page was a scheme to increase hits and pay-per-click options by forcing every visitor to click at least once even if they go on to bounce. With the limited screen size and action of tapping as opposed to clicking on mobile devices, this stalling page has all but faded into obscurity.

The experts at Ireland Website Design will create for you a mobile responsive website suited to your business and industry. Our websites drive sales to your business and that is why we are the preferred provider of many industry-specific clients and businesses.