A small business website is easy to use on a phone when someone can find what they came for, and act on it, with one thumb and without zooming. That means the important things first (what you do, where you are and how to reach you), buttons big enough to tap, text big enough to read, and pages that load quickly on an ordinary mobile signal. It is less about clever design and more about removing small frustrations.
Why does the phone version matter so much?
Because for many of your customers, it is the only version they will ever see. Ofcom’s Online Nation 2025 report found that UK adults spend an average of four and a half hours online a day, and that most of that time is spent on a smartphone.
Google’s own guidance says it uses the mobile version of a site’s content for indexing and ranking. If something is missing from your phone layout, as far as Google is concerned it is missing from your site.
What does someone on a phone actually want?
Usually one of three things: to check you do what they need, to see where you are or when you are open, or to get in touch. They are often standing in a car park or waiting for the kettle. They are not settling in to read.
So the top of your homepage on a phone should answer those quickly. A plain line saying what you do and where. A phone number. A clear way to ask for a quote or make a booking.
How big should buttons and text be?
Bigger than they look on a laptop. A finger is far less precise than a mouse pointer, and small links packed close together are an easy way to tap the wrong thing and give up.
The web’s accessibility guidelines set a floor. WCAG 2.2 asks for tap targets of at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, or enough space around smaller ones. Treat that as a minimum, not a goal. Your main buttons should be comfortably larger, with breathing room between them.
If a visitor has to pinch the screen to read your prices, the page is not finished. Body text should be readable at arm’s length, with enough contrast against its background to survive bright daylight.
Should my phone number be a link?
Yes. A phone number set up as a call link lets a visitor start the call with one tap, rather than memorising the number and typing it back in. It is a tiny detail that removes a real step between interest and a conversation.
Forms deserve the same care. Ask only for what you genuinely need. A well-built form also tells the phone what sort of answer it expects, so the phone number field brings up a number keypad instead of the full keyboard, as MDN’s reference explains.
How fast does it need to load?
Google’s guidance on Largest Contentful Paint is that the main content of a page should appear within 2.5 seconds for a good experience.
On a phone with patchy signal, oversized photos and piles of add-ons are usually what stand in the way. The fixes are rarely glamorous: images sized for the screen they appear on, fewer outside scripts, and decent hosting.
What gets in the way most often?
A few habits I would remove from almost any small business site:
- Pop-ups that cover the page before the visitor has read a word, especially ones with a tiny close button.
- Menus that hide the essentials. If “Contact” is three taps deep, bring it up.
- Words inside images, which cannot be resized or read aloud like real text.
- Sliders that move on their own before anyone has finished reading the first slide.
- PDF menus and price lists that open as a tiny document you have to pinch and drag around.
How can I check my own site?
Pick up your phone, open your website as if you had never seen it before, and give yourself three jobs: find out what the business does, find the phone number, and send an enquiry. Then hand the phone to a friend and watch them try, without helping.
Anywhere either of you hesitates, squints or zooms is worth fixing. Try it on mobile data rather than the office wifi.
If those three jobs take seconds, your site is doing its job. If they do not, most of these are small fixes, not a rebuild.
New pieces, straight to your inbox
What is changing in web design, development and AI, written for people who run a business. One email a week. Unsubscribe with one click.
We will email you once to confirm. See our privacy policy.