Tag: website

7 Ways To Test The Mobile-Readiness Of Your Website

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

We’ve talked about how important it is to have a mobile friendly website, but how do you know if your website is truly mobile-ready?

It’s a loaded question, and one we’re here to answer. Although your website might appear to look fine on mobile, it might not be truly optimized. And since 48% of consumers start mobile research with a search engine (with this stat growing month over month), it’s important that your company focuses on mobile fast.

That’s why we’re here to show you how you can find out if your website is ready for mobile.

So let’s get started. Here’s are 7 ways you can test the mobile-readiness of your website

Mobile-Readiness of Your Website 1

1. Open your website in a browser.

Yes, this test requires a desktop computer.

For this test, open your company’s website in a browser. This method is often referred to as a “three second test”, and here’s why:

With your mouse, grab the right side of your browser window and drag it all the way to the left until you can’t shrink it any further.

Is content cut off? Or can you scroll and view content without an issue? Do you have to maximize the page to view content again?

If content fits within your screen and you can scroll properly, this is a great sign.

 

Mobile-Readiness of Your Website 2

2. Test your website’s mobile load speed.

Click on this link and enter your company’s URL in the text box.

We love this offering from Google; they’ve developed a website that tests your URL to see if it’s mobile friendly, or if it’s not quite responsive.

 

Mobile-Readiness of Your Website 3

3. Open your website in your mobile browser and begin to test forms.

Since a contact form is the most important part of your website (after all, how are prospective clients supposed to contact you without it?) it’s important to ensure that forms are responsive on mobile.

Open your “Contact” page and view the form through your smartphone. Is it responding properly? Can you fill information easily?

 

4. Check your site speed.

Another great tool from Google is the Site Speed Test.

To get started, click here and, just like the mobile-readiness test, enter your company’s website URL.

This tool is truly great. In addition to speed scores, it will give you detailed information on what you should fix and the things you’ve done correctly. It will also give you a speed test for mobile and desktop.

 

Mobile-Readiness of Your Website 5

5. Review your content placement.

Even if your website is optimized for mobile structurally, it’s important that your content reflects your mobile focus.

By this, we mean that your content hierarchy should reflect how you want your web visitors to interact with your website. This can be referred to as the beginning of a “Buyer’s Journey”.

Ask yourself:

  • Are the most important Call-to-Actions the first thing investors see on mobile?
  • Is all text easy to read?
  • Are all Call-to-Action buttons easy to click? Do you understand exactly where the button will lead you?

When reviewing your website, make sure that your content is placed in a way that makes sense for visitors.

 

Mobile-Readiness of Your Website 6

6. Send this to your developer or agency…

mobiReady has a great (and extensive) test around everything JavaScript, CSS, HTML and more.

It’s easy to use, and we recommend working with your development team or agency to go through this process.

 

Mobile-Readiness of Your Website 7

7. Get our Mobile Optimization Guide.

If these first tips helped you, consider downloading our Mobile Optimization Guide here. This guide is extensive, and is a great resource for your team to use as you are going through the process of reviewing your website.

Since 83% of investors rely on mobile when it comes to work, it’s more important than ever to test the mobile-readiness of your website. Ask yourself – would you want a potential client experience frustration while interacting on your website? Can you afford to have a potential client leave your website because of a slow load time? We are assuming that the answer is resoundingly “no”.

 

How Blender Helped B2Gold Tell Their CSR Story Online

Posted on by Nicole Van Zanten

So, you’ve decided that telling your CSR story online is a must for your business. You’ve started to discuss next steps in recent leadership meetings, and you’re responding rapidly to questions posed from your Executive Team. Your budget is starting to come together to bring your story to your website, but you’re just not sure what the end result will look like.

It’s a question (and sometimes, a concern) that we hear often, so rest assured – you’re in good company. While you might have a great idea and vision of how you want to tell your story, what it will look and feel like is often a mystery.

That’s why we’re here. And that’s also why we’re sharing one of our favourite examples of a company that’s doing great things in telling their CSR story online: B2Gold.

About B2Gold

B2Gold is a Vancouver based gold producer with a strong portfolio of development and exploration assets. They are one of the fastest-growing intermediate gold producers in the world and, since its inception in 2007, have evolved into an international gold mining company.

The Challenge

When B2Gold came to Blender, their website wasn’t mobile or tablet friendly – and quite frankly, it was difficult to navigate. The breadth of information, including their CSR story, was deep within their website, and sometimes non-existent.

That’s why we’re here…

csr story online homepage

Knowing that B2Gold wanted to tell their story in such a way that displayed their global presence of their products in a highly visual, easy-to-consume way, we were ready to take on the challenge.

Working closely with the client, we collaborated to revise the sitemap and information architecture so we could, first and foremost, develop the framework. It was important to demonstrate B2Gold’s strengths of their assets, including their CSR work, and it was even more important to outline how the site would perform before determining what it would look like.

The Result – Their CSR Story Online

The result of this work was a truly interactive and detailed project map that rivaled the very best in the industry (spoiler bias: we think the map we created for B2Gold is the very best). This map accomplished their overall goal, which was to accurately display the global presence of their business and projects from Asia-Pacific to South America.

csr story online map

To experience the interactive map for yourself, click here.

The CSR portion of B2Gold’s website was also a priority; with active work in responsible mining, social responsibility, occupational health and safety, environment and biodiversity, it was important to tell the entire story in an easy-to-consume, responsive way.

B2Gold’s CSR site focused around image-based storytelling on mobile, desktop and tablet-responsive pages, making it easy for prospective investors to view and digest.

So, what should you look for when selecting your agency?

When you’ve decided that telling your CSR story online effectively is a must for your business, there are three things you need to look for when selecting your partner agency.

  1. Find an agency that works within Investor Relations

If you’re crossing your fingers and hoping that any agency will work, we hate to break the bad news to you – but they probably won’t. Working in IR is a whole new ball game, so you need to find an agency that has a positive track record within investor relations. Be sure to request case studies from clients who are in your industry.

  1. Ask the question: what happens when you’re finished my project?

One red flag of a potential agency partner is one that leaves when the project is complete.

What happens if you find bugs a few months later? What happens if a broken link is found just a few days after the contract is complete?

Look for an agency who will be with you every step of the way – not one that leaves you when your website has launched.

  1. Request to see examples of CSR sections they’ve developed and launched.

We’ve talked about the importance of CSR for your business, and while you might have a storytelling concept that you love, it’s important to receive feedback from the agency who will build your CSR online presence.

What works? What doesn’t? What will differentiate you from competition? What’s your favourite CSR section that your team has built?

Ask these questions from a potential agency so you can truly understand their grasp of the industry and the importance of telling your CSR story online.

Conclusion

We loved working with B2Gold here at Blender, and we couldn’t have been more proud of the final result. As you’re starting your CSR storytelling journey, and while you’re identifying potential agency partners, keep this blog bookmarked – we’re sure it will provide inspiration as you move forward.

CSR story online - ebook