0

I'm running a WordPress website that has certain footprint on desktop devices. I also have a separate PWA version that runs on mobile. As the content keeps growing everyday it's hard for me to keep up with desktop version.

So my question is that will going all mobile will be a good idea while forbidding the desktop version of the website ? How it will affect my seo rankings in the future?

Improve this question
  • 1
    Does your mobile version work on desktop? You say it is "progressive", does that mean it is "responsive"? Do you have separate mobile and desktop URLs? If so, would you redirect desktop to mobile? – Stephen Ostermiller♦ Jun 15 '20 at 9:54
  • just like m.facebook.com works on desktop but you would want to use it only on mobile. I too have a similar situation. yes I have a pwa but its has mobile specific UI and I dont want to create UI for desktop version. Yes i have separate mobile and desktop urls. Yes i am already redirecting my desktop users to mobile version website. – George Alvis Jun 15 '20 at 14:11
  • 1
    If you are already redirecting the desktop users to the mobile site, it sounds like nobody can access the desktop site anymore at all. – Stephen Ostermiller♦ Jun 15 '20 at 15:23
  • if the user is using a mobile device, yes i am redirecting the urls (www.example.com/post-name) to mobile url (m.example.com/post-name). Should i display a 404 message to the users accessing the desktop devices urls (www.example.com/post-name) - ? – George Alvis Jun 15 '20 at 18:03
  • 2
    The mobile site is better than a 404 for user experience. – Stephen Ostermiller♦ Jun 15 '20 at 21:39
1

The answer depends. Is it a good idea? well that depends on the percentage of your users that are mobile. If a 100% of your website users are on mobile devices, then yes, forbidding your desktop site is probably not going to make much of a difference. It terms of SEO rankings. Google primarily crawls with a mobile user-agent/bot, so having a purely mobile site is probably going to help you in the long run. Several google representatives were also quoted as saying that it may be a good idea for some websites to just move over to AMP html.

Improve this answer
0

Technology changes fast and I am not saying that desktops will be the thing of the future but don't forget tablets and don't forget other devices which could use slightly bigger resolutions. If time permits then instead of spending time in managing 2 versions I would say code out a responsive design of the same site. It can be done easily with media queries using CSS.

That way you won't have to drop any users at all.

Improve this answer
0

It depends on your call to action/moneymaker. Sometimes people have mostly mobile traffic, but eventually those mobile users complete an important form from their desktop (cross device), making that desktop traffic small but important. But if no desktop traffic is very important and causes you headaches to maintain that site, it makes sense to ditch it.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.