How to Test a Website on Mobile and Desktop
A page that shrinks to fit is not necessarily usable on a phone. Test the tasks visitors need to complete, not just the visual layout.
What to do
- Resize the browser from wide desktop to narrow mobile widths and check for horizontal scrolling, clipped text, and overlapping controls.
- Use the site with a keyboard: tab through links and forms, confirm visible focus, and test that menus open and close accessibly.
- Try forms, search, downloads, and buttons on a real phone when possible. Confirm touch targets are reachable and labels remain readable.
- Check images, loading, contrast, and error states on a slower connection and with browser zoom increased.
Checks and limitations
- Browser device emulation does not reproduce every physical device, browser, or network behavior.
- Do not remove visible focus outlines just to make the interface look cleaner.