Mobile-friendly test
Check whether a page is built for mobile - viewport, responsive layout, images and font sizing.
Run a full graded audit for the whole site.
Check whether a page is built for mobile - viewport, responsive layout, images and font sizing.
A mobile friendly test is a tool that checks whether a webpage displays correctly and functions properly on mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. It analyzes the page's viewport configuration, tap target sizes, text readability, and layout to ensure all content adapts to smaller screens without forcing horizontal scrolling or creating usability issues.
This mobile friendly test evaluates four core aspects of mobile usability that determine whether your page renders well on mobile devices. Each check measures a specific technical requirement that search engines and users expect from mobile-optimized websites.
| Element | What It Checks | Minimum Requirement | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewport Meta Tag | Whether the page declares a viewport to control layout on mobile screens | Meta name="viewport" with width=device-width and initial-scale=1 | Without this, browsers guess at layout and the page appears zoomed in or distorted |
| Tap Target Size | Whether clickable elements (buttons, links, menu items) are large enough to tap accurately | 48 pixels minimum (width and height) | Fingers are larger than mouse pointers; targets below 48px cause mis-taps and user frustration |
| Text Size | Whether body text is readable without zooming on a mobile screen | 12 pixels or larger | Smaller text forces readers to pinch-zoom, creating friction and higher bounce rates |
| Content Width | Whether the page fits within the mobile screen width without horizontal scrolling | 100% of screen width or narrower | Content extending past screen width forces horizontal scrolling, a sign of poor mobile design |
The test identifies when any of these four checks fail and provides the specific locations on your page where the problem occurs. This is different from a site-wide crawl: the tool analyzes only the single page you provide, giving you instant, focused feedback on that URL's mobile rendering without waiting for a full site audit.
Testing a single page for mobile friendliness takes just a few seconds. The process is straightforward: you provide a URL, the tool analyzes it, and you receive results showing whether the page meets mobile standards and where improvements are needed.
The test analyzes the page as it renders on a mobile viewport, simulating how the page appears to smartphone users. Results are instant—there is no waiting for a crawl of your entire site, just immediate feedback on the specific URL you provided.
Mobile friendliness affects your search rankings, user experience, and business outcomes. Google has made it a ranking factor, and the majority of your traffic likely comes from mobile devices. A page that fails a mobile friendly test may see lower rankings, higher bounce rates, and fewer conversions.
Running a mobile friendly test gives you visibility into whether your pages meet these expectations. Fixing issues identified by the test directly improves your SEO potential, user satisfaction, and business metrics.
The mobile friendly test identifies four specific categories of problems. Here's what each means and how to fix it.
Viewport meta tag is missing or incorrect. This is often the root cause of other mobile issues. If your page lacks a viewport meta tag or has the wrong settings, browsers don't know how to scale and layout content for mobile screens. Fix: Add this meta tag to your page's head section: <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">. This tells mobile browsers to match the screen width and set an initial zoom level of 100%, preventing unwanted zooming or squishing.
Tap targets are too small or too close together. Buttons, links, and form fields should be at least 48 by 48 CSS pixels to accommodate finger-based interaction. Fix: Increase the padding around clickable elements by adjusting CSS (for example, padding: 12px 16px or margin: 8px). Increase button height and width if necessary. Keep clickable elements at least 8 pixels apart from one another to prevent accidental mis-taps when users touch the screen.
Text is too small to read without zooming. Body text smaller than 12 pixels forces users to zoom in to read, creating friction. Fix: Increase your base font size to at least 12px in your CSS (for example, body { font-size: 12px; } or preferably 16px for better readability). Use relative units like em or rem for scalable sizing. Ensure headings are proportionally larger than body text to maintain hierarchy.
Content is wider than the screen. Pages that use fixed-width layouts or oversized images force horizontal scrolling on mobile. Fix: Use CSS media queries to set widths to 100% on mobile screens (for example, @media (max-width: 768px) { .content { width: 100%; } }). Set max-width: 100% on images and embed videos in responsive containers. Ensure all columns stack vertically on small screens rather than forcing a desktop layout.
Mobile friendly and responsive design are related but not identical concepts. Understanding the difference helps you know what this test measures and what it doesn't.
For most modern websites, responsive design is the standard approach to achieving mobile friendliness because it uses one codebase to serve all devices. However, some sites serve separate mobile and desktop versions. Either approach can pass this mobile friendly test as long as the mobile version meets the four core criteria.
A mobile friendly test is most valuable when run at specific moments in your site's lifecycle. Testing once is not enough; mobile issues can appear when you make design changes, add new content, or update your web framework.
This tool is designed for quick spot-checks of individual pages. For comprehensive mobile audits of your entire site, you may want to use site-wide crawling tools. But for fast, free feedback on a specific page's mobile friendliness, this test gives you instant results without setup or login.
A mobile friendly test is a tool that analyzes whether a webpage displays correctly and remains usable on mobile devices like phones and tablets. It checks four core elements: viewport configuration (telling browsers how to scale the page), tap target size (ensuring buttons are big enough to tap), text readability (confirming text is not too small), and content width (verifying content fits the screen). If all four pass, the page is considered mobile friendly. The test provides instant results for a single page URL without requiring a login or waiting for a site-wide crawl.
Google previously offered a Mobile Friendly Test tool as part of Search Console, but it was retired in December 2023. However, similar third-party mobile friendly test tools are available online and provide the same core functionality: checking whether a page meets mobile usability standards. This tool checks your page against the same criteria Google cares about for mobile rankings, even though it's not an official Google product. The technical requirements being tested are the same ones Google evaluates.
Mobile responsive testing checks whether a website adapts its layout and design to different screen sizes and devices. Responsive design uses flexible grids, CSS media queries, and scalable images to display content optimally on phones, tablets, and desktops. A mobile friendly test is narrower in scope: it evaluates whether a page meets basic mobile usability standards (tap targets, text size, viewport, content width), while responsive testing assesses how well a page adapts across the full range of screen sizes. A responsive page will usually pass a mobile friendly test, but a mobile friendly page is not necessarily fully responsive across all devices.
Mobile-friendly websites include major platforms like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Wikipedia, and most modern news sites. These sites share common characteristics: they use responsive design or a mobile-optimized layout, have appropriately sized tap targets (at least 48 pixels), display readable text without requiring zoom, and fit content within the screen width without horizontal scrolling. You can test any website you admire or want to learn from by entering its URL into this mobile friendly test to see whether it passes all checks and learn what makes it mobile friendly.
To make your website mobile friendly, start by adding the viewport meta tag to your page's head section: <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">. Then ensure tap targets (buttons, links, form fields) are at least 48 by 48 pixels with spacing between them. Increase text size to at least 12 pixels and use CSS to make it larger for better readability (16px is ideal). Use CSS media queries to stack content vertically on small screens and prevent horizontal scrolling. Set images and embedded content to max-width: 100% so they scale with the screen. After making changes, retest using this tool to confirm all checks pass.
Enter the full URL of the page you want to test into this mobile friendly test tool, click Analyze, and wait a few seconds for results. The tool will evaluate your page's viewport configuration, tap target sizes, text size, and content width. It will report whether each check passes or fails and point out specific issues if any are found. You can test any URL, including competitor sites or your own pages. After fixing issues, run the test again to confirm they are resolved. You can test as many pages as you need without signing up or creating an account.