To help developers and webmasters make their pages mobile-friendly, we
recently updated PageSpeed Insights with additional recommendations on mobile
usability.
Poor usability can diminish the benefits of a fast page load. We know the
average mobile page takes more than
7 seconds to load, and by using
the PageSpeed
Insights tool and following its speed recommendations, you
can make your page load much
faster. But suppose your fast mobile site loads in just 2 seconds
instead of 7 seconds. If mobile users still have to spend another 5 seconds once the page
loads to pinch-zoom and scroll the screen before they can start reading the text and
interacting with the page, then that site isn’t really fast to use after all. PageSpeed
Insights’ new User Experience rules can help you find and fix these usability
issues.
These new recommendations currently cover the following
areas:
Configure the viewport: Without a meta-viewport tag, modern
mobile browsers will assume your page is not mobile-friendly, and will fall back to a desktop
viewport and possibly apply font-boosting, interfering with your intended page
layout. Configuring
the viewport to width=device-width should be your first step in mobilizing
your site.
Size content to the viewport: Users expect mobile sites to scroll
vertically, not horizontally. Once you’ve configured your viewport, make sure your page
content fits
the width of that viewport, keeping in mind that not all mobile devices are the same
width.
Use legible font sizes: If users have to zoom in just to be able
read your article text on their smartphone screen, then your site isn’t mobile-friendly.
PageSpeed Insights checks that your site’s text
is large enough for most users to read comfortably.
Size tap targets appropriately: Nothing’s more frustrating than
trying to tap a button or link on a phone or tablet touchscreen, and accidentally hitting the
wrong one because your finger pad is much bigger than a desktop mouse cursor. Make sure that
your mobile site’s touchscreen tap
targets are large enough to press easily.
Avoid plugins: Most smartphones don’t support Flash or other
browser plugins, so make sure your mobile site doesn't
rely on plugins.
These rules are described in more detail in our help
pages. When you’re ready, you can test your pages and the
improvements you make using the PageSpeed
Insights tool. We’ve also updated PageSpeed Insights to use a
mobile friendly design, and we’ve translated our documents into additional
languages.
As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please post in
our discussion group. Posted by Louis Gray, Googler
