7 Things Every Business Website Must Have on Mobile

Most people who look up your business will get there from their phone: between meetings, in the checkout line or on the couch in the evening. If your website looks great on a computer but on mobile they have to zoom in, scroll sideways and hunt for how to call you, they'll simply go back to the search results and tap the next website.

The good news is that most mobile issues are well known and relatively easy to fix. We've put together seven things every business website must have on a phone, plus a simple way to check your own site at the end.

Why mobile is what counts

Google ranks and indexes websites mainly based on their mobile version, not on what you see on a computer. In other words, if important content is missing on mobile or hard to use there, it affects not only your visitors but also how Google understands your site.

But even setting Google aside, the logic is simple: in the first few seconds, the customer asks themselves one question — "Do I understand what this business does, and how do I contact them?" On mobile there's little screen space and little patience, so every small detail matters.

1. Call and WhatsApp buttons that are always within reach

On mobile, the most natural way to reach out is a call or a message. So:

• Your phone number should be tappable, so a single tap starts a call.
• A WhatsApp button that opens a direct chat with the business, ideally with a ready-made opening message.
• It's best for one of them to appear both at the top of the page and further down, or as a sticky button at the bottom of the screen, so visitors don't have to look for it.

Make sure the sticky button doesn't hide important content or other buttons.

2. Text you can read without zooming

If visitors have to pinch-zoom with two fingers to read, something isn't working. A good mobile website is responsive: it adapts to the width of the screen, with no sideways scrolling.

• A comfortable, readable font size, with reasonable line spacing.
• Short paragraphs. What looks like a reasonable paragraph on a computer turns into a wall of text on a phone.
• Good contrast between text and background, so it's readable even in the sun.

3. Fast loading

On mobile, people aren't always on a fast connection, and a slow-loading website loses people before they've even seen anything. The most common causes of slowness on business websites are usually:

• Heavy images uploaded at their original camera size, instead of the right size and format for the web.
• Background videos that autoplay.
• Too many plugins, scripts and external tools that nobody uses anymore.

Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool lets you enter your website's address and get an estimate of its mobile loading speed, along with a list of recommendations for improvement.

4. A short, clear menu

On mobile, the menu usually collapses into a single button, and when it opens it takes up the whole screen. A menu with fifteen items and submenus turns into a maze there.

• Keep only the truly important pages in the main menu: services, about, work or testimonials, and contact.
• Use simple, familiar names, not creative wording visitors have to decode.
• Make sure the logo links back to the homepage.

5. A short contact form that's easy to fill out

Filling out a form on a phone is more tiring than on a computer, so every unnecessary field lowers the chance the visitor will finish.

1. Ask only for the minimum: name, phone and maybe one field explaining what it's about.
2. Set the field types correctly, so the phone field opens a number keypad and the email field opens a keyboard with @.
3. Write on the button what will happen, for example "Send and I'll get back to you" instead of "Submit."
4. Show a clear confirmation message after submitting, so the visitor knows the inquiry was received.

It's also smart to plan ahead where inquiries go — to email, WhatsApp or a spreadsheet — so no inquiry gets lost.

6. Finger-sized buttons

On mobile, people tap with their thumb, not a mouse. Small, crowded links lead to mistaps and frustration.

• Buttons big enough to tap comfortably, with space between them.
• Important buttons placed where they're easy to reach with one hand.
• Avoid links hidden inside a long sentence when it comes to the main action on the page.

This is also part of website accessibility: a site that's easy to tap and read is more comfortable for all visitors, including people with disabilities.

7. No pop-ups blocking the content

A pop-up that covers the whole screen the moment the visitor arrives, with a tiny close button in the corner, is one of the most annoying experiences on mobile. Google itself recommends avoiding intrusive pop-ups that make content hard to access.

If it's important to you to show an offer or a newsletter signup, a small banner that doesn't cover the page, or an offer that appears within the content itself, works better.

How to check your website in five minutes

You don't need technical knowledge to get an initial picture:

1. Open your website on your phone, and ask someone else to open it on a different device too.
2. Try to complete the action that matters most to you: call, send a message or fill out a form. Notice how long it takes and where you got stuck.
3. Check for sideways scrolling, text that's too small or buttons that are hard to tap.
4. Run your website's address through PageSpeed Insights and see what comes up.

If you yourself would give up on reaching out halfway through, chances are your customers are giving up too.

The bottom line

The mobile version isn't an add-on to your website — it's actually the website most of your customers see. Accessible call and WhatsApp buttons, readable text, fast loading, a simple menu, a short form, comfortable buttons and no annoying pop-ups — these are the basics. If you're also unsure about the type of website itself, it's worth reading the guide Landing Page or Brand Website?.

And if you're planning a new website or want to improve your current one so it works well on phones, you can start with the Website brief questionnaire — a few minutes to fill out, and together we can figure out what your website needs.