NTG STUDIO WEBShort answer
A site that isn’t mobile-friendly shows text that’s too small, buttons too close together or pages that overflow on phones. In Cameroon, where most visits come from smartphones, this drives visitors away and hurts SEO, because Google evaluates the mobile version first. The fix is a responsive, mobile-first design.
Key takeaways
- Google ranks sites by their mobile version
- Most of your visitors are on phones
- A visible WhatsApp button beats a long form on mobile
- An old non-responsive site is often faster to rebuild than to fix
Open your site on your phone. Do you have to zoom to read? Are the buttons too small? Does the menu overflow? If so, you’re losing a large share of your visitors, and Google knows it.
Why it’s serious in Cameroon
The vast majority of Cameroonian internet users go online with a smartphone. Many never use a computer. A site designed for a desktop screen becomes unreadable for your real clients.
And for several years, Google has evaluated and ranked sites by their mobile version. A site that displays badly on phones drops in results, even on desktop.
Signs a site isn’t mobile-friendly
- You have to zoom to read the text.
- You have to scroll sideways.
- Buttons and links are too close to tap.
- Images or tables overflow the screen.
- The menu is unusable.
- Forms are painful to fill in.
NTG Studio Web does it for you (Website redesign, Performance & speed). Free 30-minute audit, reply within 24 hours, payment by Orange Money or MTN MoMo.
What a real mobile site is
Responsive: the layout adapts automatically to the screen size.
Mobile-first: the site is designed for phones first, then enhanced for desktop. That’s our approach.
Thumb-friendly: large buttons, main actions near the bottom, WhatsApp and call buttons always within reach.
Lightweight: images sized for the screen, to save your visitors’ data.
Fix or rebuild?
- Recent site on a modern theme: a few targeted fixes are often enough.
- Old site built for desktop: fixing costs almost as much as a redesign, with a worse result. A redesign also modernises design and SEO. See When should you redesign your website? 12 signs it’s time.
Mobile checklist
- Text readable without zoom (16 pixels minimum for body text).
- Buttons at least 44 pixels tall.
- Clickable phone number.
- WhatsApp button with a prefilled message.
- Forms with three to five fields maximum.
- Page displays in under 2.5 seconds on 4G.
All our sites, Essential and Premium, are designed for phones first and tested on real devices and connections.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my site is mobile-friendly?
Open it on your phone: if you have to zoom to read or scroll sideways, it isn’t. PageSpeed Insights also flags mobile display issues.
Can an old site be made responsive?
Sometimes, by reworking the theme. On a very old site, a redesign is often faster and cheaper.
Do I need an app as well as a mobile site?
Rarely. A fast mobile site that installs on the home screen is enough for most businesses.
Founder of NTG Studio Web in Douala. Master’s in international public law, IBM Data Analytics and Anthropic AI Fluency certified. He designs websites and visibility strategies for African businesses. Learn more →