Why it matters for a small business site
Starting small forces the hard choices early (what matters most, what can go), which often makes the desktop version clearer too. It also suits how Google looks at pages, which is mainly through their mobile version.
How to check yours
- Look at your phone layout on its own: is the most important thing first, and is the main button easy to reach with a thumb?
- Check text is at least 16px, and that form fields don’t make the phone zoom in when tapped.
- Make sure nothing important appears only on the desktop version.
What good looks like
On a phone: a short headline, the main button near the top, content in order of importance, tap targets around 44 pixels, and forms that bring up the right keyboard for each field (numbers for phone numbers, the email keyboard for email).
Common mistakes
- Shrinking a desktop design instead of rethinking it for a phone.
- Pop-ups that cover the whole phone screen on arrival.
- Menus or tooltips that only work on hover, which touch screens don’t have.
- Long forms with small fields.