How to test your website on a phone in 10 minutes
A simple checklist for testing your website on a phone: readability, buttons, forms, menu, speed and layout. You only need a phone and ten minutes.
Many of your visitors will open your website on a phone, often while walking or in bright light. A site that looks fine on a laptop can still be awkward on a small screen. You can find most problems yourself in about ten minutes, with no special tools.
Before you start
- Use your own phone, and if you can, borrow a second one with a different screen size.
- Switch off Wi-Fi and use mobile data, so you see what a visitor on the street sees.
- Try the site upright and then turned sideways.
Reading
- Can you read the text without zooming in?
- Is there enough contrast between text and background, also in daylight?
- Do images cut off anything important, such as a headline or a price?
Menu and buttons
- Does the menu open and close, and can you reach every item?
- Are the buttons big enough for a thumb, with space between them so you do not hit the wrong one?
- Does tapping the phone number open the dialler, and does tapping the email address open your mail app?
Forms
- Does the right keyboard appear, for example one with the @ sign for an email field?
- Can you still see the field you are typing in when the keyboard is open?
- Are error messages understandable?
- Send a real test enquiry and check that you see a confirmation, and that the message arrives.
Speed and layout
- Does the page appear within a few seconds on mobile data?
- Does the content jump around while loading?
- Is there any sideways scrolling, meaning something sticks out beyond the screen?
- Can pop-ups be closed easily, and do they not cover the whole page?
Write down what you find
Take a screenshot of each problem and note the page and the phone model. That makes it much easier to fix. If many pages feel slow, see what slows a website down, and for contrast and form labels, website accessibility basics.
If the test shows more than you want to fix yourself, write to me and I will tell you honestly what is a small fix and what needs more work. More on my work is on the website development page.