Have you ever tried to use your own website on your phone, the way a new client would? Not on the office computer, but standing in a queue, with one thumb free?
If you haven’t, you might wonder how much it really matters. Is a website that works on phones a nice extra, or is it costing you enquiries without you knowing?
By the end of this article, you’ll know how to check whether your website works properly on phones in about two minutes. You’ll also know which problems to fix first.
We’ll cover the quick check anyone can do and the problems we see most often on phones. Then we’ll cover what your web person should check, and how often to look again.
Key takeaways
- You can test your website on a phone yourself in about two minutes, with no tools.
- The problems that cost enquiries are usually simple: tiny text, hidden phone numbers, long forms and slow pages.
- A website that “fits the screen” can still be hard to use on a phone.
- Fix the things that stop people getting in touch before anything else.
- Check again after every change to your website, not once a year.
In this article
- Why the phone visit matters more than you might think
- The two-minute phone check you can do today
- The problems that stop people getting in touch
- Fitting the screen is only the start
- What to ask your web person to check
- What to fix first, and how often to check
Why the phone visit matters more than you might think
Many people meet your firm for the first time on a phone. They might be checking you out after a referral, or searching during a lunch break.
That first visit is short. If the page is slow, or they can’t find what they need, they go back and try the next firm.
In our experience, firms often judge their website on a big screen in the office. The client sees something quite different.
So a better question to ask is this: does my website work for someone on a phone who has never heard of us?
The two-minute phone check you can do today
Pick up your own phone. Don’t use the office wifi if you can help it, so you see the real speed. Then work through these steps.
1. Open your home page and count to five
Can you tell what the firm does and who it helps before you scroll? If you have to hunt for that, a new visitor will too.
2. Find your phone number
Is it easy to see? Tap it. Does your phone offer to call it? If nothing happens, that’s an enquiry you may be losing.
3. Open the menu
Can you find the service you’d want as a client? Look for menus that are hard to open, close or scroll on a small screen.
4. Read a service page without zooming
Can you read the words comfortably? If you need to pinch and zoom, the text is too small.
5. Fill in your contact form
Count the boxes. Does the keyboard cover the button? Do you get a clear message when you press send?
6. Tap the main buttons
Are they big enough for a thumb? Are any so close together that you hit the wrong one?
Write down anything that annoyed you. That list is the start of your fix list.
The problems that stop people getting in touch
When we look at websites on phones, the same few problems come up again and again. None of them need a new website to fix.
The phone number isn’t tappable
A number shown as an image, or tucked away in the footer, makes calling harder. On a phone, calling should take one tap.
Pop-ups cover the page
A pop-up that fills the screen, with a tiny close button, is one of the quickest ways to lose a visitor.
Text is too small, or lines are too long
People skim on phones. Small text and long blocks of words make that harder, so they give up.
Buttons are too small or too close
Fingers are less precise than a mouse. Buttons need space around them, so people tap the one they meant.
The form asks for too much
Every extra box is another reason to stop. Ask for what you need to reply, and leave the rest for the first call.
The page is slow to load
Large photos are the most common reason. A visitor on a weak signal may never see the page at all.
These are the kind of small things we cover in more detail in our guide to the website mistakes that cost enquiries.
Fitting the screen is only the start
A lot of websites are “responsive”, which means the layout shrinks to fit a phone. That’s good, but it isn’t the same as being easy to use.
A page can fit the screen and still bury the next step at the very bottom. It can fit and still take ten seconds to load.
So when you check a page on your phone, ask one question as you scroll. What does this page want the visitor to do next, and is that easy?
That might be calling you, booking a call or sending a short message. On a phone, it helps to show that next step near the top of the page and again further down.
Making your website easy for everyone to use, including people with poor eyesight or shaky hands, helps here too. Many of the same fixes apply.
What to ask your web person to check
Some checks need your developer or whoever looks after your website. You don’t need to know how to do these, but it helps to know what to ask for.
- Speed on phones. Ask them to run your main pages through Google PageSpeed Insights and tell you the phone results in everyday words.
- Image sizes. Photos should be resized and compressed for the web. A photo straight from a camera is often far too big.
- The page setup for phones. The page needs the right settings so phones show it at the correct size. Your developer will know this as the “viewport” setting.
- Real phones, not only the computer. Ask them to test on at least one iPhone and one Android phone, not only a desktop preview.
- Google Search Console. It can flag pages that are hard to use or slow. If you don’t have it set up, ask for it.
Ask for the findings as a short list in priority order. If the reply is full of words you don’t understand, ask what each one means for someone trying to contact you.
What to fix first, and how often to check
Not everything on the list needs fixing at once. Start with whatever stops people getting in touch.
- Make the phone number tappable and easy to find.
- Make sure the contact form works on a phone, and keep it short.
- Remove or tame any pop-up that covers the page.
- Show the next step near the top of your main pages.
- Then work on speed, text size and spacing.
Check again every time your website changes. A new plugin, a new page or a new photo can undo good work without anyone noticing.
Many firms also add the phone check to a simple monthly routine. It takes two minutes and catches problems before clients do.
What this looked like for one client
One of our clients is a UK business on our monthly marketing plan. It gets 70+ website enquiries every month (between 63 and 92 a month, April to September 2026).
In my experience, the phone checks in this article are some of the first things worth getting right. The work runs together, so no single fix can take all the credit.
Your phone is the best test you have
You don’t need special tools to find out if your website works on phones. You need your own phone and two minutes of honesty.
The problems that cost enquiries are often small and fixable. A number that won’t tap. A form that’s too long. A pop-up in the way.
Fix those first, then work on speed. And check again every time something on your website changes.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes on what’s stopping people getting in touch, book a More Clients Call. It takes under 30 minutes, and you’ll come away knowing what to fix first.
Not ready for a call? Read what the first screen of your home page should say.
