On April 21st, Google will be implementing their latest major algorithm update that is designed to push for a more mobile-friendly internet. All we know for sure is that Google recently made this announcement:

“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.”

Even though this announcement doesn’t tell us exactly how to prepare for this change, the consequences are simple and clear: websites that are not optimized for mobile will be suffer significantly in Google rankings. So, implement one of these two strategies to ensure your community website survives when ‘Mobilegeddon’ strikes:

1. Responsive Web Design – If you have a responsive web design, the size of your website’s pages will automatically adjust to the screen size of the device your website is being viewed on. The benefit to this is that you only have to have one website. It’s highly flexible and happens to be Google’s recommended configuration (hint, hint). Beware of web designs that claim to be responsive but truly aren’t. If you think you have a responsive site but aren’t sure, simply visit your website on a mobile device and see if it is truly responsive to your screen size.

2. Create a Mobile Site – Mobile sites are separate websites created solely for mobile devices. While this option is typically cheaper to design, they can end up causing more backend work and costs, because it’s essentially a duplicate site. This means that if you update one page, you must update the mobile page as well.

If you are unsure of your current mobile status or need assistance with accomplishing one of these two strategies, reach out to a mobile optimization specialist and prepare yourself for ‘mobilegeddon’ before it’s too late...