Web Design: Google brings the Mobilegeddon down upon millions of web sites! REPENT before you perish!

Google smites millions of the unwashed, unmobile at Mobilegeddon! REPENT or ye shall surely perish!

Fred Showker

armageddon

I've been getting email from web designers and ISPs all over, from India to Indianapolis, like those late night TV evangelists with bad hairdos, counting down to what they are calling the Mobilegeddon. The call to arms is rolling out : judgment day is tomorrow, April 21. It's so compelling -- blogs are humming, web masters are panicking and there's even a hashtag #mobilegeddon. I just had to do some research and find out why the whole web world is once again bowing down to the latest scriptures of Google.

When the Web Sucks

It dawned on me that web design has gone full circle. In the very beginning, web pages sucked very badly. But then traditional designers began to apply the logic and purpose of design and web sites began to be inviting and visually appealing. Then as the pool exploded, they were driven to jam more and more into each page . . . the pages began to bloat from over indulgence. Ads and blinking eyesores dotted the landscape all along the highway, and the text got smaller and smaller, links grew and grew, pages fatter and fatter. Then came the fiery sword of Google.

Now your web site will suck again. When you see the results of web sites that do indeed comply with this 4th sword, you'll see it takes a perfectly well designed web site and makes it suck. Why? Because you're supposed to have a good reader experience and visually appealing approach in a 4-inch screen. No more aesthetics. 60% of our population now sees everything through a 2-inch by 4-inche hole. And, before long, that hole will shrink to 1-inch.

Suffer those who worship the link

Google promised to smite any unbeliever who refused to break links that didn't please the scripture. We know this because it actually happened. For years and years the design axioms of the Internet taught to link and reference others. Designing for the web was simple. Link onto others as you would have them link unto you. But all that changed when the savoir descended from heaven to defeat the antiGoogle.

Suffer the nonmobile for they will face Mobile Friendly judgment day

Google is now going to devalue any web site that does not have an acceptable mobile version. Millions of web designers are scratching their heads, wondering what "acceptable" means. After all, everything that was once taught as acceptable good design rule, has been struck down by allmighty Google.

Next step: testing

So I started running sites through Google's testing site. Mine failed. All three -- so I'm pretty sure I'll be suffering Google's pyre* of redemption. The sites of popular and well respected designers failed. Some of the most popular sites in the world failed. But then, many sites driven by ironclad or black-hat SEO operators were, in fact, complying! Amazing. You know, sometimes there's a thin line between Google and Anonymous. In my research, I learned that there were told to be 7 battles of Armageddon before the very end*. Mobilegeddon will be Google's 4th. It will be interesting to see what punishment they bring on the world in the next three.

Until that time, you can see how your own site is doing by pasting your links in here:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

For the curious : Revelation 16: The story of Armageddon

The Mobilegeddon Saga Continues

Don't take my word for it! If you wish to explore further, have at it . . .

Google's 'mobilegeddon' will shake up search results

Biggest change in two years could see turmoil in search rankings as mobile-friendly sites take prime spots due to algorithm change
Having a site that is friendly to mobile browsers on smartphones and tablets will be key from Tuesday as Google rolls out a new mobile-focused algorithm. The update to the way Google ranks search results will take into account how mobile-friendly a website is. This means companies without a good mobile website will suffer, as searchers on mobile will see sites with good mobile experiences ranked higher than those with no mobile or poor mobile sites.
Full story : Mobile-friendly is the new hotness

Google is making a giant change this week that could crush millions of small businesses

On Tuesday, April 21, Google is making a major update to its mobile search algorithm that will change the order in which websites are ranked when users search for something from their phone or tablet.
The algorithm will start favoring mobile-friendly websites (ones with large text, easy-to-click links, and that resize to fit whatever screen they're viewed on) and ranking them higher in search. Websites that aren't mobile-friendly will get demoted.
Full story : www.businessinsider.com

"Mobilegeddon" Is Coming on April 21 - Are You Ready?

Few things get a webmaster's attention quite like waking up to a Twitter feed filled with news about a major algorithm update. In the world of SEO, hummingbirds, pandas, and penguins are akin to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Most algorithm updates come with vague or no warning, but Google recently announced, "Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results."
Full story : Game on Google – Time to Prepare for Mobilegeddon

The Advanced SEO's Guide To Mobilegeddon

If you're so far ahead that you've scoffed at other articles about preparing for Google's upcoming mobile algorithm update, columnist Bryson Meunier has tips on taking it to the next level.
As someone who has been warning business owners about Google's upcoming “Mobilegeddon” mobile friendly update since at least 2009, I have to say that the advice latecomers are getting in many blogs today seems kind of basic to me. Get a mobile site? Really? True, it's necessary — but do we really need experts to tell us that?
It's clear that many people do, unfortunately. Portent recently crawled the top 25,000 sites and found that 40% of them are not mobile-friendly. Yikes.
Full story : searchengineland.com

MORE: Web Updates for Web Designers

And that wraps it for this edition of Marketing Update from DTG.
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