One of the most important things to look at before purchasing a new theme is whether or not it’s mobile responsive. With so many people visiting websites on their phone and the weight Google gives responsiveness when it comes to ranking, it’s something that isn’t optional anymore.
But if responsiveness isn’t something you looked at when you purchased your theme and you’ve found that it isn’t mobile-friendly, today we’ll talk about what you should and shouldn’t do to get it fixed.
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How do I know if my theme is responsive?
First things first, if you’re not sure whether your current theme is responsive, it’s time to find out!
Start by heading to your website from your phone or a tablet. Are things formatted differently to work well on a phone? Or do you find yourself scrolling left and right and zooming in to do what you need to do? If you’re scrolling and zooming, your website isn’t responsive.
You can also head over to this website and type your URL in the search bar to see what Google sees! Here’s the message you want to see:
What not to do when your WordPress theme isn’t responsive
Let’s start with a couple things you don’t want to do if you find that your theme isn’t optimized for different screen sizes.
Ignore It
If this is the first time you’re realizing your theme isn’t responsive, it might be tempting to ignore it for a while. Trust us, we get it, but if you’re taking your blog and business seriously, this isn’t the route to go as it can have extremely negative impacts on your search engine rankings and overall user experience. Not much will make someone leave your site faster than finding that it’s hard to use.
Use a plugin
Searching through the WordPress plugin repository will bring up a few plugins that claim to make your theme responsive for you. While this might be a quick fix, it’s absolutely not going to do the job as well as a theme built for responsiveness would. If you want the best solution and a mobile site that is optimized for your website, read on to our next few options.
What to do when your WordPress theme isn’t responsive
Now that we’ve gone over what not to do, let’s talk about things you could do to make your theme responsive.
Hire some help
Making your theme responsive will require someone familiar with HTML and CSS. If that person isn’t you, don’t be afraid to hire out! Doing some quick looking around or asking for help in a Facebook group will turn up some developers that can get it taken care of quickly. You can even inquire with us to help you out!
Hiring an experienced developer to make your theme responsive will ensure it’s done the right way to look and work great on all devices, while making Google a whole lot happier.
Get a new theme
If hiring help is outside your budget, it’s time for a new theme. There are a lot of great, responsive themes out there for affordable prices, including ours that range from $39 to $99!
Just remember, when searching for a new theme, try it out on a few different mobile devices to make sure it adjusts as it should.
Is your theme responsive?
If you’re not sure if your theme is responsive, head over to your phone now and take a look. If it’s not responsive and you decide it’s time for a new theme, check out our free 3-day series all about choosing the perfect theme for you!
