My Website Looks Different on Mobile

This Is Normal — Here's Why

If your website looks different on your phone or tablet compared to your desktop computer, this is completely normal and intentional. Your website is built using responsive design, which means it automatically adapts its layout to fit the screen size of the device being used.

On a large desktop monitor, you might see content arranged in multiple columns, large banner images, and a full navigation menu. On a phone, that same content is rearranged into a single column, images are resized, and the navigation is tucked into a hamburger menu (☰) to save space.

This isn’t a bug — it’s a deliberate design decision that ensures your website is easy to read and use on any device.

What Changes on Mobile

Here are the most common differences you’ll notice between desktop and mobile views:

• Navigation menu — the main menu collapses into a hamburger icon (☰) that opens when tapped. This prevents the menu from taking up the entire screen.
• Multi-column layouts — content that sits side-by-side on desktop stacks vertically on mobile. For example, a three-column feature section becomes three stacked blocks.
• Images — large banner images may be cropped differently or replaced with a smaller version optimised for mobile screens.
• Text size — headings may be slightly smaller on mobile to fit the narrower screen, while body text stays readable.
• Buttons and links — these may be larger on mobile to make them easier to tap with a finger.
• Hidden elements — some decorative elements (background patterns, floating graphics) may be hidden on mobile to keep pages clean and fast-loading.

When Something Actually Looks Wrong

While most differences are intentional, there are some signs that something might genuinely need fixing:

• Text is overlapping or running off the edge of the screen
• Images are broken or not loading at all
• Buttons can’t be tapped or are too small to use
• The page scrolls horizontally — on mobile, you should only need to scroll up and down, never left and right
• Content is completely missing — a section visible on desktop doesn’t appear at all on mobile
• Forms don’t fit — input fields or submit buttons extend beyond the screen

If you spot any of these issues, please contact InnerMedia support with a screenshot and the page URL, and we’ll get it fixed.

How to Preview the Mobile Version

You don’t need a phone to check how your site looks on mobile. Here are two easy ways:

Method 1: Browser developer tools

1. Open your website in Chrome on your computer
2. Press F12 (or Ctrl + Shift + I on Windows / Cmd + Option + I on Mac)
3. Click the device toggle icon (it looks like a phone and tablet) in the top-left of the panel that appears
4. Your website will now display as it would on a mobile device. You can change the device type from the dropdown at the top.

Method 2: Resize your browser window

1. Simply drag the edge of your browser window to make it narrower
2. Watch the website adapt as the window gets smaller — this simulates a mobile screen

Both methods show you the responsive layout without needing an actual phone.

Tips for Mobile-Friendly Content

When editing your website content, keep mobile visitors in mind:

• Keep paragraphs short — long blocks of text are harder to read on a small screen. Break content into shorter paragraphs.
• Use headings — they help mobile users scan content quickly and find what they need.
• Check image sizes — very large images slow down mobile loading times. Make sure images are optimised for web.
• Test links and buttons — make sure they’re easy to tap on a touchscreen. If a link is buried in a long sentence, it may be hard to tap accurately.
• Avoid wide tables — tables with many columns often don’t display well on mobile. If you need to present tabular data, consider using a simpler layout.

If you’re unsure whether a change you’ve made looks right on mobile, preview it using the methods above before publishing, or preview changes before publishing in WordPress.