Texas_Web_DesignIt used to be that website designers only needed to cater to the needs of the desktop users when creating a website. Now, with the increasing number of platforms such as smart phones and tablets used to access the internet, it is very important to cater to the needs of such device platforms as well. A Texas website designer must create for both desktop and mobile users – and it is becoming a dilemma, more so when considering SEO.

To solve such a problem, Google has recently released recommendations on how mobile users can be provided with a quality browsing experience without compromising SEO efforts or a desktop user’s experience. There are currently three accepted practices to serve both mobile and desktop clients.

Responsive

This approach is good for websites that provide the same content and functionality both for mobile and desktop visitors. With this approach, there is only one website that caters to the needs of users regardless of hardware. With good CMS, it is possible to provide legible contents regardless of the device’s resolution.

When browsing through smaller mobile phone browsers, visitors won’t have to navigate horizontally rather being able to go through all content vertically. The content will adjust itself to the screen resolution of the hardware where it is being displayed. Search engine optimization as done by a Texas website designer won’t necessarily be affected since there is no existing parallel content that could confuse search engine crawlers.

Dynamic

There are instances when it is necessary to serve different contents and functionality through different platforms. In that case, dynamic serving via the same URL is an ideal approach. Unlike a responsive website where the content being displayed is all the same to all viewers, this approach is able to serve content based on a user’s hardware, targeting what is provided as specific to what is needed.

This approach can be achieved by having parallel websites and implementing user agent detection. The URL will remain the same for both contents; if the server detects a visitor is using a particular hardware, it will display the site which is suitable for that particular hardware. In order to keep both versions optimized for search engines, Google recommends adding a variable HTTP header to the server response.

Parallel Site

The last option for catering to both mobile and desktop users is a parallel site. Its difference from the last option is that the alternate version for mobile users will have a different URL than the one desktop viewers would access through an “m” sub-domain. To retain search engine optimization using this approach, the guideline is to use link canonical tag on mobile pages towards the desktop version and use a link alternate tag on the desktop pages linking to mobile pages so no duplication issues will arise.

With the increasing amount of available viewing devices, it is important to have websites configured to cater to both desktop and mobile users. Visitors must be able to access and utilize a website easily without compromising search engine optimization. Hopefully this article has provided helpful information regarding the three most common and accepted ways to create a mobile site and make it SEO worthy!

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In this day of numerous mobile internet devices, do you need to find a Texas website designer to help bring your website up to date for such usage? Call Web Unlimited at 979-696-2500 for help with a design that will allow your internet presence to be found on all possible viewing devices!