Conversion and enquiries
Most Gulf visitors are on a phone: the mobile checks that decide enquiries
Ilyes Massoudi6 min readThe short answer
On most Gulf websites I audit, three quarters or more of visits come from a phone, while the owner and the designer review the site on a desktop. The result is a site that looks good on a large screen and is broken where the customer decides. The correct check starts on your own phone on a mobile network, not wifi: is the Arabic text readable without zooming, can the buttons be tapped with a thumb without error, is the WhatsApp button visible without scrolling, does the mobile field open the number keypad, and does the page appear within three seconds. Google's mobile-friendly test has been retired; its replacements are PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and your phone.
The problem is where the review happens
The designer builds the site on a 27-inch screen. The business owner reviews it at a desk on a computer. The manager approves it from a computer. Then the customer arrives from a phone in their car and sees something none of them saw.
That is why so many sites look excellent in the approval meeting and poor in the conversion numbers. The fix is simple and free: every review starts on a phone, on a mobile network rather than office wifi, with a thumb rather than a mouse.
The checklist from your phone
Open your site on your phone now, on mobile data, and check:
| Check | What you are looking for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| First screen | Headline, button and number visible without scrolling | The decision is made here |
| WhatsApp button | Fixed and visible on every page, not covering content | The enquiry path in the Gulf |
| Arabic font | Readable without zooming, around 17 pixels or more, regular weight | Visitors do not zoom, they leave |
| Buttons | Tappable with a thumb without error, spaced apart | Mis-taps frustrate |
| Menu | Opens and closes easily, items named after services | One-handed navigation |
| Form | The mobile field opens the number keypad, few fields | Every extra field loses a share |
| Images | Nothing overflows the screen, no horizontal scroll | Horizontal scroll signals a flipped template |
| Speed | The page appears within three seconds | Mobile visitors are the least patient |
| Tables | Scroll inside their frame rather than breaking the page | Common on pricing pages |
| Pop-ups | Nothing covers the screen on entry | Loses more than it gains |
The tools after Google’s test was retired
Google’s mobile-friendly test that everyone used was retired in late 2023, along with the mobile usability report in Search Console. Anyone searching for it today finds a closed page. The replacements:
- PageSpeed Insights: real-user mobile data for your page, which is what Google actually relies on. Details in the speed article.
- Lighthouse in Chrome: checks tap-target size and spacing, font size and viewport settings.
- Device mode in developer tools: to preview different screen sizes, remembering it represents neither network speed nor a thumb.
- Your phone and someone else’s: iPhone and Android, because Arabic fonts render differently on each.
Recurring mistakes on Gulf sites on mobile
- A huge hero image taking the whole first screen, with the headline after it.
- The phone number as an image or non-tappable text. On mobile it must be a call link.
- A wide pricing table that breaks the page and forces horizontal scrolling.
- A chat widget covering the WhatsApp button itself.
- A menu that opens and will not close, or closes at any touch.
- Arabic text left-aligned in elements carried over from an English template.
- An eight-field form on a small screen.
When you need a developer and when you do not
Most of the list is fixed in hours by whoever runs your site today: font size, the fixed button, the call link, removing the slider, cutting form fields. What takes more work is speed when the site’s structure itself is heavy, or a flipped template that needs rebuilding. Knowing which of the two you have is what you need before paying anyone.
Where this sits in the audit
The audit reviews pages on mobile as the customer sees them: screen layout, tappable elements, content parity between mobile and desktop, and speed from real-user data. Every item is classified by impact, with the person who executes it written next to it.