How To Make HTML Websites Compatible With Mobile Browsers

It goes without saying that most people tend to browse websites on mobile devices more than desktops or laptops. People are glued to their smartphones and find it easier to look for a product or service with their mobile phones. With that being said, businesses and professionals should also adapt to the current trend by ensuring websites are mobile-friendly.
But, how to make HTML website compatible with mobile browsers? If you’re unsure and new to this, this article explains what is a mobile-friendly website and tips on how to make the HTML websites suitable for all mobile devices.
Aspects of a website compatible with mobile browsers
There are several ways to tell if a website is mobile-friendly. Here are some of the main key aspects of a website that’s compatible with mobile browsers:
1. Fast loading speed
If the website loads quickly within less than 3 seconds on mobiles, the website is considered as compatible. This is because those who are viewing websites on mobile aren’t patient enough to wait long for it to load as they want quick answers.
2. Ease of navigation
Since the screens on mobile browsers are smaller than on a laptop or desktop, the navigation has to be easy and simple enough to touch on any screen size. The user should not have to find it difficult to navigate your website while exploring different pages.
3. Mobile-friendly elements
The website should have mobile-friendly elements implemented within the HTML code. For instance, the buttons or links should be easy to interact with while on different screen sizes. Since most mobile devices are touchscreens, it should be easy to touch as well.
4. Responsive website design
The website is considered compatible with mobile browsers if the website adjusts accordingly to different screen sizes and orientations such as landscape or portrait.
Why is it important to make an HTML website compatible with mobile browsers?
It’s important to ensure all HTML websites are compatible with mobile browsers for the following reasons:
- Boost mobile traffic: As most users visit websites via mobile devices, it will boost your mobile traffic as it’ll capture the right target audience.
- Improve SEO rankings: The SEO rankings will improve as search engines tend to place mobile-friendly websites at the top of search results.
- Increase sales and conversions: If a user finds your website easy to use on mobile devices, they are more likely to take action and engage with your products or services.
- Improve user experience: If your website is not mobile-friendly, it could lead to higher bounce rates and turn users away.
How to check if the HTML website is compatible with mobile browsers
It’s crucial to do your own checking instead of relying on visitors to provide feedback. Here are some of the common ways to check if your HTML website is compatible with mobile browsers:
1. Perform checking using your own mobile browser windows
You can test the website using your own mobile devices. Open up your mobile phones or tablets to view your website and assess its performance or usability.
2. Test your website with Google’s Mobile-friendly Test Tool
Consider using Google’s Mobile-friendly Test Tool as it can provide various insights on the overall website performance and usability.
3. Check with your website’s browser window
You can also test if your website is mobile-friendly by adjusting the browser window on your desktop or laptop. If it’s easy to navigate and looks fine when you decrease the size of your browser window, then it should be mobile-friendly.

7 tips on how to make HTML website compatible with mobile browsers
Here are some of the useful tips on how to make HTML website compatible with mobile browsers:
1. Use Viewport Meta Tag in your HTML
You should include the Viewport Meta Tags in your HTML code as it will help the website to scale automatically to different screen sizes. As website pages were designed for computer screens, the viewport will change according to new devices with various screen sizes. These are HTML elements that control how the website will be displayed on mobile devices. It should be added to the head tag section of the HTML code.
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
The width=device-width helps to set the width of the website page to adjust automatically to the screen-width of the device. The initial-scale=1.0 helps to set an initial zoom level once the page loads on the respective browser.
However, a few things to keep in mind would be to adjust the content within your website so that it fits the width of the viewport. If the width of the content is larger than the viewport, it will cause users to scroll horizontally, which is considered to be bad user experience. Instead, you can use CSS media queries to adjust by using relative width values.
2. Improve the website loading speed
Another important tip on how to make HTML website compatible with mobile browsers is to ensure the website speed loads fast. To improve the loading speed, some of the methods are to minimize HTML, CSS, and Javascript codes to remove any unnecessary codes from the website. Besides that, you may also consider using Content Delivery Networks (CDN) to help deliver static files by choosing the nearest server.
3. Standardize the button sizes and placements for mobile
Since mobile devices are mostly touchscreens, it’s important to ensure the button sizes and placements are appropriate, especially when the buttons are call-to-actions (CTAs). The buttons should be placed where users can easily see them and make it faster for them to click, which is usually at the lower right of the screens. The sizing should also be 37.8px by 37.8px to fit thumb sizes.
4. Use media queries
Media queries are CSS codes to apply different styles for various devices based on their screen sizes. They are used to adjust the grid layouts, margins, font sizes, and padding of an HTML template.
Here’s an example of a media query code:
.column {
width: 100%;
}
@media (min-width: 768px) {
.column {
width: 50%;
}
}
This code explains that the minimum width is 768px. If there are any viewports wider than the minimum width, it will automatically adjust the column width to 50% of the parent column.
6. Ensure forms and input fields are mobile-friendly
A common tip on how to make HTML website compatible with mobile browsers is to make the forms or input fields easy to fill up on mobile devices. The forms and input fields should be easy to fill up as mobile devices generally have smaller screen sizes, making it more tedious to complete a form with minimal space. You can put two fields in a row to reduce scrolling.
You can consider keeping it simple and concise instead of long forms. Include features such as auto-fill to make it easier and provide clear error or validation feedback for the user to understand better.
7. Implement responsive font sizes
The font sizes will look different on various screen sizes. On desktop, a 14px font size may look great, but it could be too large on mobile devices as they have smaller screen sizes. You can consider using viewport width within the HTML codes.
For example, you can use CSS media queries with px to ensure the font is responsive on various screen sizes.
Conclusion
It’s a given – having an HTML website that’s compatible with both desktops or laptops and mobile devices is crucial in today’s world. By implementing these tips on how to make HTML website compatible with mobile browsers, you can offer a good user experience for your visitors. Learn more tips and tricks on how to optimize your website for mobile besides the methods above.