{"id":37942,"date":"2022-05-28T15:00:15","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T13:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/?p=37942"},"modified":"2022-05-26T13:16:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T11:16:14","slug":"wordpress-and-mobile-first-indexing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-and-mobile-first-indexing\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress and Mobile-First Indexing: All You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]These days, most internet users tend to browse Google from their mobile devices, which is exactly why Google has started introducing mobile-first indexing in July 2019. Basically, this means that Google has started to use the mobile version of websites during its indexing and ranking process. And while most websites have since been switched to mobile-first indexing already, this process is still ongoing and there are plenty of things to uncover about this subject.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In case you have a WordPress site that still hasn\u2019t been switched over, or if you simply want to learn more about this particular topic, then this is the right article for you. We will explain in detail <strong>what mobile-first indexing really means<\/strong>, how it has unfolded so far, as well as <strong>what you can do to prepare your own site to have the smoothest possible transition<\/strong>. Stay tuned as we talk about:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#what-is-googles-mobile-first-indexing\">What Is Google&#8217;s Mobile-First Indexing?<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#mobile-first-or-mobile-only\">Mobile-First or Mobile-Only?<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#is-website-switched-to-mobile-first-indexing\">How to Know if Your Website Is Switched to Mobile-First Indexing<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#prepare-for-mobile-first-indexing\">How to Prepare for Mobile-First Indexing \u2013 Best Practices<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=&#8221;new-seo-banner&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"what-is-googles-mobile-first-indexing\"><\/a>What Is Google&#8217;s Mobile-First Indexing?<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/What-Is-Googles-Mobile-First-Indexing.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"What Is Google\u2019s Mobile-First Indexing\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/What-Is-Googles-Mobile-First-Indexing.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/What-Is-Googles-Mobile-First-Indexing-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/What-Is-Googles-Mobile-First-Indexing-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/What-Is-Googles-Mobile-First-Indexing-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Just as its name suggests, mobile-first indexing means that <strong>Googlebot primarily uses the mobile version of a website for indexing its different pages<\/strong>. Therefore, the mobile version of a website provides a reference point when forming a ranking of the said website in SERPs. In other words, having a mobile-friendly website that is properly optimized for mobile-first indexing will not only <strong>boost your SEO and improve your chances of ranking higher on Google<\/strong>, but it will also <strong>enhance the search experience of mobile users<\/strong> as a whole.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In the past, the desktop version of website pages was predominantly used during the indexing and ranking process. However, with most users viewing and using Google search from mobile nowadays, Google has decided to give priority to mobile versions of websites instead.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"mobile-first-or-mobile-only\"><\/a>Mobile-First or Mobile-Only?<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Mobile-First-or-Mobile-Only.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Mobile-First or Mobile-Only\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Mobile-First-or-Mobile-Only.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Mobile-First-or-Mobile-Only-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Mobile-First-or-Mobile-Only-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Mobile-First-or-Mobile-Only-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Before we go any further, it\u2019s important to clarify that \u201cmobile-first\u201d does not mean \u201cmobile-only\u201d. For example, <strong>if a site doesn\u2019t have a mobile version, Googlebot will crawl and index pages by taking into account its desktop version<\/strong>. That being said, you should be aware that not having a mobile-first website can only jeopardize your overall rankings.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Another reason for using mobile-first indexing instead of mobile-only indexing would be the potential massive drops in rankings and traffic as well as other forms of damage that could occur if all websites were to switch to the mobile-first indexing model at once. This is also the reason why Google has been rolling out these changes slowly. In fact, the concept of a mobile-first index has been first <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2016\/11\/mobile-first-indexing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced in the year 2016<\/a> and is still ongoing to this day. In 2020, Google announced that they would <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2020\/07\/prepare-for-mobile-first-indexing-with\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">delay mobile-first indexing until March 2021<\/a> due to different issues that have been found, such as problems with <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-add-lazy-load-to-wordpress\/\">lazy-loading<\/a>, robots meta tags on mobile versions, and mobile images and videos, among others. Today, in 2022,<strong> the process of mobile-first indexing is still ongoing<\/strong>. And despite most websites being set to mobile indexing already, there are still sites that are yet to be switched.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]So, long story short, <strong>Google will continue to index desktop versions<\/strong> of websites, but<strong> more importance will be given to mobile versions moving forward.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"is-website-switched-to-mobile-first-indexing\"><\/a>How to Know if Your Website Is Switched to Mobile-First Indexing<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/How-to-Know-if-Your-Website-Is-Switched-to-Mobile-First-Indexing.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"How to Know if Your Website Is Switched to Mobile-First Indexing\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/How-to-Know-if-Your-Website-Is-Switched-to-Mobile-First-Indexing.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/How-to-Know-if-Your-Website-Is-Switched-to-Mobile-First-Indexing-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/How-to-Know-if-Your-Website-Is-Switched-to-Mobile-First-Indexing-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/How-to-Know-if-Your-Website-Is-Switched-to-Mobile-First-Indexing-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]If you own a website that has been created after July 1st in 2019, then it has been switched to mobile-first indexing by default. Ever since this particular date, Google has made sure to enable this type of indexing for all new websites automatically. This includes both entirely new websites as well as sites that have been previously unidentified by Google Search.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Now, as for older websites that have been existing before this announcement date, Google has been set to notify owners of these websites as soon as their site is switched to mobile-first indexing. They make sure to inform them via Google Search Console, letting them know of the exact date when their site has been rolled over.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"prepare-for-mobile-first-indexing\"><\/a>How to Prepare for Mobile-First Indexing \u2013 Best Practices<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]So, now that you get the idea of what mobile-first indexing stands for, it\u2019s time to take a look at <strong>some of the ways in which you can ensure that your website is ready and optimized for mobile-first indexing<\/strong>. No matter if your site is in the mobile index already or if it has yet to be switched over, some of these practices may prove to be useful for you.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Offer the Same Experience on Mobile and Desktop<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Offer-the-Same-Experience-on-Mobile-and-Desktop.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Offer the Same Experience on Mobile and Desktop\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Offer-the-Same-Experience-on-Mobile-and-Desktop.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Offer-the-Same-Experience-on-Mobile-and-Desktop-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Offer-the-Same-Experience-on-Mobile-and-Desktop-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Offer-the-Same-Experience-on-Mobile-and-Desktop-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In their announcement, Google has particularly stressed that the experience on your mobile site should be the same on your desktop site. While you can (and should) have a slightly different design on mobile and desktop to ensure user-friendliness in both cases, the overall experience on both platforms should be near-identical. Here are some of the things you should take care of to abide by this rule:<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Make sure that Googlebot can easily access and render your page content.<\/strong> This includes using the same meta robots tags on both desktop and mobile, letting Google crawl your resources, and refraining from lazy-loading your primary content.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Make sure that your desktop site has the same content as your mobile site.<\/strong> If your mobile pages have less content than your desktop pages, you can lose some important traffic after mobile indexing is enabled. That\u2019s because Google won\u2019t receive as much information as before. So, your mobile site\u2019s primary content should be identical to that of your desktop version. And if you need to save space, you can try <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-create-accordions-and-toggles-in-wordpress\/\">organizing your content into accordions<\/a> and tabs instead.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Use the same headings on mobile and desktop sites.<\/strong> Make sure that the headings are clear and easy to understand on both site versions.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Ensure that the structured data is the same on desktop and mobile.<\/strong><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Your WordPress Site Should be Fully Responsive and Mobile-Friendly<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"568\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Your-WordPress-Site-Should-be-Fully-Responsive-and-Mobile-Friendly.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Your WordPress Site Should be Fully Responsive and Mobile-Friendly\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Your-WordPress-Site-Should-be-Fully-Responsive-and-Mobile-Friendly.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Your-WordPress-Site-Should-be-Fully-Responsive-and-Mobile-Friendly-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Your-WordPress-Site-Should-be-Fully-Responsive-and-Mobile-Friendly-768x450.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Your-WordPress-Site-Should-be-Fully-Responsive-and-Mobile-Friendly-620x363.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]This should almost go without saying, but we think it\u2019s important to mention it regardless. By ensuring that your WordPress site is mobile-friendly and properly optimized so that it looks good on mobile, it\u2019s safe to say you\u2019ve already done a large portion of the work when it comes to preparing your site for mobile-first indexing. And while your site will be indexed for mobile no matter if you\u2019ve taken care of your website\u2019s mobile responsiveness or not, it doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s any less important for your website to have a mobile-friendly design. After all, by implementing mobile responsiveness, you provide the best possible experience for all users viewing your pages from mobile devices. In turn, you can only increase your chances of ranking higher on Google.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]To check whether your website is mobile-friendly, you need to <strong>know what your pages look like when viewed from mobile devices<\/strong> first. You can easily do this by using an online emulator tool, like <a href=\"https:\/\/bluetree.ai\/screenfly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Screenfly<\/a>, for example. Most such tools will allow you to not only test out your website\u2019s mobile responsiveness but can also help you simulate the way your site pages look on any other device, including desktops and tablets. Alternatively, you can even use the WordPress page\/post preview link (located on every page\/post edit) and choose <em>Mobile<\/em> to preview what your page will look like on mobile.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]You should check out our article on <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-view-mobile-version-of-your-website-on-desktop\/\">how to view a mobile version of your site<\/a> for more info.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Use a Mobile-Friendly WordPress Theme<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder   qodef-has-border \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"474\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Qi-Theme.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Free Qi Theme\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Qi-Theme.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Qi-Theme-300x147.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Qi-Theme-768x376.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Free-Qi-Theme-620x303.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Fortunately, most <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/themes-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WordPress themes<\/a> come with responsive design out of the box nowadays, which pretty much guarantees that your theme will feature a mobile-friendly design. That being said, if you\u2019re using an old theme that hasn\u2019t been updated in a while, or worse yet, it has been abandoned by its developers entirely, you have to be cautious. If one of these things applies to your theme, see that you <strong>switch to a newer theme that gets regular updates and is well optimized for mobile.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]We recommend going for any theme that comes from our own arsenal as each theme contains a responsive and mobile-friendly design, which means your pages will look flawless on every screen size or type. If you\u2019re on the budget, we suggest that you check out our very own free <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/qi-theme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Qi Theme<\/a>. Depending on your specific needs, this theme will help you build beautiful, professional, and fully responsive websites. Also, thanks to its 100 professionally made demos, the Qi Theme will be able to house anything from an online store and agency to a portfolio or restaurant.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Improve Your Website Speed<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Improve-Your-Website-Speed.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Improve Your Website Speed\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Improve-Your-Website-Speed.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Improve-Your-Website-Speed-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Improve-Your-Website-Speed-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Improve-Your-Website-Speed-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Website speed is, without a doubt, one of the most important factors to consider when making sure your website is optimized for mobile-first indexing. After all, no one has the time to wait for slow sites to load nowadays \u2013 no matter if they view them from desktop or mobile. Not to mention that by improving your website speed, you will also greatly <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-reduce-bounce-rate-in-wordpress\/\">reduce your bounce rate<\/a> and help boost your conversions.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Luckily, there are many different ways in which you can <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-improve-mobile-page-load-speed-in-wordpress\/\">improve the mobile page load speed of your WordPress site<\/a>. They include:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Enabling website caching.<\/strong> There are many available <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-wordpress-caching-plugins\/\">caching plugins<\/a> that will be able to help you out with this task.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Optimizing images.<\/strong> If you <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-optimize-images-for-web\/\">optimize your images for the web<\/a> without jeopardizing their quality, you also ensure that they load faster, which can help improve your overall page speed immensely.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Being careful about the plugins you\u2019re using.<\/strong> Determine the plugins you absolutely need to use and make sure that they aren\u2019t jeopardizing your website\u2019s speed. Finally, <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/uninstall-wordpress-plugin\/\">uninstall the plugins<\/a> that aren\u2019t as important and\/or that put too much strain on your page\u2019s loading speed.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Using a CDN (Content Delivery Network).<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/what-is-a-cdn\/\">A CDN<\/a> will help reduce latency by delivering content from a server closest to the location of the user making the request.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;72px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"qodef-h5\">Other Things You Can Do to Prepare for Mobile-First Indexing<\/h3>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;24px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Other-Things-You-Can-Do-to-Prepare-for-Mobile-First-Indexing.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Other Things You Can Do to Prepare for Mobile-First Indexing\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Other-Things-You-Can-Do-to-Prepare-for-Mobile-First-Indexing.jpg 969w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Other-Things-You-Can-Do-to-Prepare-for-Mobile-First-Indexing-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Other-Things-You-Can-Do-to-Prepare-for-Mobile-First-Indexing-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Other-Things-You-Can-Do-to-Prepare-for-Mobile-First-Indexing-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Aside from all the things we already mentioned above, there are many other ways in which you can ensure your WordPress site is well prepared for mobile-first indexing. Here are some of the additional things you can do that Google has recommended:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Use the same metadata on the mobile and desktop versions of your site.<\/strong> This means that your meta title, meta description, <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-use-header-tags-for-seo\/\">header tags<\/a>, etc. are the same on both versions.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Check your ad placement.<\/strong> In other words, you should make sure that the <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-manage-ads-in-wordpress\/\">ads you display<\/a> on your site don\u2019t cause any bad experience for your mobile users.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Take care of your images.<\/strong> See that you\u2019re using high-quality images on your mobile site and use the same <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/image-titles-and-alt-text-in-wordpress\/\">alt text<\/a> for your images on mobile as you do on desktop.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Take care of your videos.<\/strong> Follow the best video practices on your mobile site, which includes using the same video structured data on desktop and mobile and refraining from using video URLs that change whenever the page loads for your videos.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Check hreflang links on separate mobile URLs.<\/strong><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Use the same robots.txt directives on both versions of your website.<\/strong> The robots.txt file allows you to decide which parts of a website will be crawled (or not), which is why it\u2019s imperative that both desktop and mobile site versions have the same directives.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]For more tips and detailed info, you can always check out the official <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/mobile-sites\/mobile-first-indexing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google developers mobile-first indexing<\/a> page.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\">Start Optimizing for Mobile-First Indexing Today<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Google has been preparing for a switch to mobile-first indexing for a while now. Whether you own a relatively new site that has already been switched over automatically, or if this transition has yet to happen to your own site, it\u2019s of key importance to optimize for this new way of indexing for the best possible results. It\u2019s needless to say that by doing so, you will avoid experiencing any potential drawbacks, such as receiving a lower website ranking and running your website\u2019s SEO as a whole. All in all, you should see that your website looks nothing short of flawless on both desktop and mobile, make sure that your website\u2019s speed is top-notch, and always follow the indexing practices recommended by Google. Start by following this guide, and you\u2019ll be as ready for mobile-first indexing as you can get.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you own a WordPress site that is yet to be switched to mobile-first indexing, or if you want to learn more about the topic, this is just the article for you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[94,81,65,13],"class_list":["post-37942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","tag-analytics","tag-google","tag-mobile","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}