Mobile-Friendly Test Tool

Although there are several free mobile-friendly test tools available on the internet, we recommend using Google’s for its simplicity, accessibility, and authenticity. 

Using the tool is very straightforward, just copy and paste the URL of any page that you want to test and click ‘test URL’.

Within seconds, you’ll see a page similar to this one:

What’s more, You’ll be provided with a preview of exactly how the website will look when it is accessed on a mobile device and a site-wide usability report.

There is also an option to view the page’s source code, and the tool offers information on any usability errors that it encounters during the test.

For example, the test tool will inform you if your page is only able to load partially, and which elements failed to load on a mobile device. It can also highlight any CSS fonts that are unable to load, which is excellent from the perspective of troubleshooting. This is perfect for designers, developers, or businesses looking to make their website more mobile user-friendly.

Note that Google’s mobile-friendly test tool can be used to see if a site is blocking the Google crawler or offering Google different information to what the user sees.

 Advantages of Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Tool

• Using this free tool, you can test a website that has already gone live or copy and paste a chunk of code. This offers an advantage to people working on websites that are still in development.
• Google provides instant answers to anyone trying to test whether or not their page is mobile-friendly. 
• They also offer a list of ‘page loading errors’, explaining any loading issues that are impacting the website. This gives developers the information that they need to investigate and fix things and improve the usability of the website.
• The mobile-friendly test tool uses Google’s crawler agent I.D string, making it a ‘must’ for websites that want to perform well in Google’s search rankings.

Closing Thoughts

As you work to optimize your website for mobile, you could benefit from:

• Improved SEO, specifically across mobile website indexes.
• A more streamlined user experience across all devices.
• Improved conversion rates amongst mobile users.
• Faster download speeds.
• More cost-effective and flexible than mobile app development.
• Continuous improvements to user experience.