3 Mobile Website Problems That Are Easy to Miss on a Desktop
You know that moment when you finally check your website on your phone, and suddenly things look… off? A button is too big. Text runs into itself. Images are cut off. And you’re thinking, “Wait, my website looks fine on my computer. How did I miss this?”
This feeling is so real, and you’re not alone. A lot of business owners I talk to design their websites sitting at a desk, looking at a full-size monitor. Then weeks later, someone asks, “Hey, did you know your contact form is invisible on mobile?” and you feel that little jolt of embarrassment.
Here’s the good news: this is one of the easiest things to catch and fix once you know what you’re looking for. And the fact that you care about how your site looks on a phone means you’re already halfway there.
Let me walk you through the three mobile problems that slip past most people who are designing from a desktop, plus exactly how to spot them before your visitors do.
Problem 1: Text That Reads Like An Eye Chart
This one happens to almost everyone, and it’s sneaky because it looks perfectly readable on your desktop.
When you’re designing on a big screen, a font size that looks small and elegant actually becomes tiny on a mobile phone. I’m talking about paragraph text that requires squinting, headlines that seem to shrink down to nothing, and button text that makes visitors work too hard to read what they’re clicking.
The worst part? It happens gradually. You make a small change to your font size here, adjust the spacing there, and suddenly your entire article is sized for someone with bionic vision.
On mobile, your visitor has a 6-inch screen instead of a 27-inch one. That dramatic difference means everything needs breathing room. Text that feels generous on desktop actually becomes cramped on phone. What feels professional and minimalist on a laptop suddenly feels unfriendly and hard to read on an iPhone.
Here’s what to look for:
- Your body text (the paragraph stuff) should be at least 16 pixels on mobile. Anything smaller and you’re making people work
- Headlines should still feel like headlines, not just regular text with a size bump
- Buttons should be big enough to tap without accidentally clicking the wrong thing
Many women find that when they actually hold their phone and try to read their own website, they immediately see what needs fixing. It’s like putting on glasses for the first time, you know? Suddenly everything comes into focus.
The opportunity here is to make your content easier to read, which means more people will actually stick around and read what you have to say.
Problem 2: Images That Crop in Weird Ways
This one drives me crazy because it’s usually invisible until you look at the site on a phone, and then it’s all you can see.
On your desktop, your beautiful hero image of you speaking at a conference looks perfect, centered and gorgeous. Then someone views it on their phone, and half your face is missing. Or your product photo is cropped so awkwardly that people can’t even tell what they’re looking at.
This happens because of something called responsive design, which is actually good and necessary, but it can do weird things to images if they’re not set up properly from the start. When your website shrinks down to fit a phone, images don’t always know which part to keep and which part to let go. They just kind of… chop themselves up.
I’ve seen websites where the main image on the homepage is literally just a blank space with the edge of a photo barely visible. Or a product image that’s been squished so thin vertically that it becomes unrecognizable. These are small things to look at, but they have a big impact on whether someone feels like your site is polished or half-finished.
Here’s what to look for:
- Open your website on your phone and look at every image. Does it make sense? Can you still see what it’s supposed to show?
- Pay special attention to hero images (the big ones at the top of your pages), product photos, and any images that are important to your message
- If an image looks chopped or weird, that’s an opportunity to either resize it, crop it differently, or swap it for an image that works better on small screens
The opportunity isn’t just about making things look good, it’s about making sure your message actually comes through. If your most important image is cut off on mobile, you’re losing a huge part of your story.
Problem 3: Navigation That Hides the Content You Want to See
This one is less about what’s broken and more about what’s surprisingly hard to use.
On your desktop, your navigation menu is probably visible all the time, either at the top or side. It’s easy to scan, easy to click, and it doesn’t take up much room. Then you look at it on a phone, and it’s either a tiny hamburger menu (that three-line icon) that people have to tap to open, or it’s a full-screen dropdown that covers everything.
Here’s the thing: hamburger menus are fine, and they’re necessary on mobile because space is tight. But a lot of websites I see have menus that either hide too much or are so small that people don’t realize they can tap them at all.
I also see websites where the navigation is there, but the most important pages are buried three taps deep. Someone visiting your site on their phone wants to find your services, your contact info, or your about page without having to play menu roulette.
Some sites also have navigation that’s so full (15+ links anyone?) that it becomes overwhelming even when it’s open. On a phone, that’s especially frustrating because you’re scrolling through a mile-long list just to find one page.
Here’s what to look for:
- Can you easily see and tap your main menu on a phone without accidentally hitting the wrong thing?
- Are your most important pages accessible in one or two taps? (Usually: Home, About/Services, Contact, and maybe one or two others)
- If you have a hamburger menu, is it obvious that it’s clickable? (It should look like a button)
- Test it with one hand. If you have to use both hands to navigate, that’s an opportunity to make it simpler
The opportunity here is to make it genuinely easy for someone to find what they’re looking for, which is honestly the whole point of a website. A confusing navigation experience on mobile is the fastest way to send someone looking for a competitor instead.
How to Actually Check Your Website on Mobile
I want to give you the easiest way to do this, because “check it on mobile” is one of those vague instructions that doesn’t help much.
You have two real options:
Option 1: The Obvious One
Grab your actual phone. Open a browser. Type in your website URL (or click a link to it). Then scroll through your pages like a real person would. Don’t zoom in and out, don’t tilt your screen sideways, just hold it like you normally would and notice how it feels to use. This is the most honest test because it’s how your actual visitors will experience your site.
Option 2: Use Your Computer’s Developer Tools
If you use Chrome or Firefox, right-click anywhere on your website and select “Inspect” or “Inspect Element.” This opens a panel that shows your website’s code, which sounds scary but isn’t. Look for a little phone icon (usually in the top left of the code panel), click it, and your website will shrink down to show how it looks on different phone sizes. This is fast and useful for spotting problems, but it’s not quite as real as looking at it on your actual phone.
I recommend doing both. The developer tools will show you what might be wrong, and looking at it on your actual phone will show you what actually is a problem for a real person using it.
What to Do When You Find Something Off
Let’s say you’ve looked at your website on your phone and you noticed that your text is too small, or your images look weird, or your buttons are too tiny. What now?
If your website is built on WordPress or a page builder like Squarespace or Wix, there’s usually a “mobile view” or “responsive design” option in your settings or editor. You can often tweak how things appear on small screens without touching anything on the desktop version. It’s usually under something like “Mobile Settings” or “Responsive Design.”
If you’re not sure where to look, your website platform’s help section (or a quick Google search for “[your platform name] mobile settings”) will point you in the right direction. And here’s the thing: this is one of those areas where you don’t need to be a tech expert to make small adjustments. It’s usually just moving a slider or unchecking a box.
If the problems are bigger, or if you’re not comfortable poking around in the settings, that’s absolutely okay. You can always reach out to get some help, whether that’s a quick question or a full-on website review. The important part is that you looked, you noticed, and you’re taking it seriously. That’s already a win.
The Bigger Picture
What I love about this particular thing is that it’s fixable. You’re not looking at a expensive rebuild or a months-long project. You’re looking at adjusting some settings, maybe tweaking some images, and suddenly your website works beautifully on the 60% of traffic that’s coming from mobile devices.
The women I work with often have this realization: “Oh, my website wasn’t broken. I just wasn’t seeing it the way my visitors were.” That’s a game changer, because suddenly you’re not judging your site on how it looks to you sitting at your desk. You’re seeing it through the eyes of someone trying to figure out if they want to work with you on their phone, probably while they’re waiting in line or on their lunch break.
When your website works smoothly on mobile, people trust that you pay attention to details. They trust that you’ve thought about their experience, not just how pretty your site is. And that matters so much more than you might think.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my website definitely broken if it doesn’t look perfect on mobile?
Not at all. Most websites have some little thing that could be tweaked when you look at them on a phone. The difference between “a website that works” and “a website that’s broken” is whether it’s actually hard to use. Can someone still read your content, see your images, and find your contact button? Then you’re probably fine. Does it require squinting or lots of scrolling side-to-side? That’s when it’s worth fixing.
Do I need to redesign my whole website if mobile problems show up?
No. Most of the time, these are small adjustments. You’re often just changing font sizes, tweaking spacing, or adjusting how images display on small screens. It’s like tuning an instrument, not replacing it entirely.
Can my web designer fix this, or do I need to fix it myself?
That depends on how complicated the problem is and how your website is built. Small things (font size, spacing, image crops) you can sometimes fix yourself. Bigger structural issues you might want to hand off to someone who knows your website’s setup. Either way, the first step is just noticing what needs fixing, which you can do right now on your phone.
What if I check my website on my phone and it looks fine, but a friend said theirs looks weird?
Different phones and browsers sometimes display websites slightly differently, especially older phones or different versions of Android. If most visitors are seeing it fine but one person reported a problem, it might be a one-off issue rather than something you need to fix everywhere. But if multiple people mention problems, that’s your signal to take a closer look.
If your website no longer feels like you, let’s talk about it – Book a Free Website Clarity Call with Beth →