More than a billion people on the planet have access to smartphones now.People using Smartphones which run on different Operating Systems such as iOS and Android, Use their phones for browsing the internet.

It is crucial for web developers to make a different version of their website for smartphones.This is necessary because the way websites display or present themselves on Desktop systems is not suitable for mobile users.It’s harder to navigate, The text looks small unless you have to zoom in manually.

Bottomline is, Browsing Desktop version of websites on Smartphones is a recipe for a headache, People find it baffling to navigate Desktop version of websites on smartphones and give up browsing a such sites.

The solution is to make Mobile versions of the website which is far more user-friendly.

Designing a Website in such a way that it is suitable for users with different smartphones with different specifications is a technique called Mobile Search Engine Optimization.According to Google, Websites should have mobile friendly versions so the mobile search engines can notice them.

Following are some Methods for creating Mobile-friendly sites :-

1. Choose a design model

There are different types of mobile websites

• Responsive
• Parallel site
• Dynamic serving

Responsive:

In this method, the same website is shown, but the site converts itself to be suitable for the screen size of the phone

A lot of developers choose this style because of its easiness and usefulness.In addition to that, it is not very costly to design a Mobile website with this method.

This is one of the simplest designs and there is very little risk in it.The responsive type has been recommended by google and it has no Negative effects on SEO.

Google understands a website well when it is using Responsive design.

This configuration for a mobile site is suitable for most but not all websites.

Dynamic serving:

In this method,  the type of the device being used to explore the website is detected and the web pages which are shown are displayed according to it

The URL is the same regardless of the device being used.

This type of mobile website design is harder to Maintain and apply. The technological requirements are costly and most users can get confused when they are shown different content on the same URL when they use a different device to browse the same site.

Basically, it shows different content to Desktop and mobile users.We have to inform Google that a Dynamic design is being used for the website as it cannot detect it on its own.

In order to inform Google, Vary HTTP header is used which informs Google that the data shown on this site may vary according to the device being used to view it. If the Vary HTTP header is not being used, Your ranking on the search engines will be hurt.

Mobile parallel site:

If you choose this method to create Mobile version your site, you are actually crafting two websites, one for desktop and one for smartphones.

This method offers the best customizability for the mobile-version of pages. You can make the mobile-site however you want without messing up the desktop version.

Since you are handling two different sites with this type, This method can be costly and require Advanced SEO expertise.

2. Using Mobile friendly content

Now that you are building a smartphone-friendly version of your site, you need to make sure that the content you use is user-friendly.

Use short headlines and titles with the main message and write in small paragraphs.

Avoid using heavy images because they can take time on smartphones to load and make the experience ultimately slower.

Optimization and avoiding mistakes

Use CSS and Javascript for the mobile site too! These features were not supported by smartphones some time ago but now they run on almost all smartphones.Google understands the difference between responsive type site and some other site design better if these features are being used.

Optimize your website to be scrolled as smoothly as possible

3. Use the right tools:

Following is a list of tools useful for Mobile SEO

Mobile Emulator: This tool helps you emulate the way websites will be shown on smartphones.

Google tools: Use the proper google tools to design the best website

Responsive Web designing tools: This tool lets you know how responsive the site is on different screen sizes of smartphones

Some Common mistakes you should avoid are:

Say No to Pop-ups

Everyone who browses the internet regularly knows that window pop ups which request us to download the website’s app or subscribe to their content are annoying even on desktops.

Google suggests not to use such pop ups on mobile-sites. Pop ups on mobile web pages are a huge letdown and sometimes they can’t even be closed.

Don’t use ads or overlays which stop the user from viewing the content on the web page

Avoid the Flash plugin

Use html5 instead of Flash plug in and keep the browsing experience of mobile users interesting