Do you remember having to pinch and scroll endlessly to read content on your smartphone simply because the desktop site was rendered the same way? Pretty frustrating, wasn’t it?
Mobile design — and even website design — has been evolving continually to serve users better. A long time ago, most people browsed on their desktops. But not anymore. The shift to browsing on mobile devices has necessitated a corresponding shit to a mobile-first user experience.
Today, over 60% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. So, it only makes sense to give priority to websites designed not just to be mobile-friendly but to be mobile-first.
But what does this mean?
Mobile-friendly vs. Mobile first
You see, many websites today are designed to be responsive. That is, the actual desktop mode conforms to mobile when viewed on a smartphone. Some even have the mobile version of the web (think of how Facebook for mobile was before now). Such a website is said to be mobile-friendly.
Still, the typical mobile experience isn’t there. In some cases, some functions are either limited on mobile or are difficult to access simply because the website wasn’t designed for mobile in the first place. It was only adapted from desktop to mobile.
Mobile-friendly is the bare minimum. We can live with it, but it’s surely not the best that smartphone users today desire. A site that is thoroughly mobile from scratch is what they want, and that’s what you have to give to them if you wish to offer stellar experiences.
Therefore, it’s definitely worth having thorough mobile testing done before launching your app. By having your app tested on a mobile-centric testing platform, you ensure the product ticks all the boxes before getting released. This will guarantee its acceptance since it is exactly what users want.
Why mobile-first design is crucial for your business in this era
- Mobile-first makes it easier to scale
Designing for mobile first makes sure that your website will work well on all devices. If you design for the desktop first, it might be hard to make the design work well on smaller mobile screens. This could result in a poor mobile experience for a lot of your users. But if you start with mobile, you can make sure that the important parts of your website work well on small screens and then add more features for desktop users. This way, your website will be scalable and work well on all devices.
- Mobile search is becoming the standard
More and more people are using their mobile phones to do things like search the internet, book appointments, or buy things online. This is because mobile phones have gotten better and faster, and people are becoming more comfortable using them for a wider range of tasks. As a result, mobile phones have become the most common way that people access the internet, and businesses need to start designing their websites and apps to work well on mobile first. Not to mention the SEO benefits, such as Google prioritizing mobile-first in search results.
- The mobile-first approach potentially eliminates frivolity
Designing for mobile is difficult, and designing with a mobile-first approach is even more challenging. This demands a lot of focus and attention on what’s most important for the user. You have to be careful not to include anything that’s not necessary. Hence, designing for mobile first helps you simplify the experience by including only what’s really important.
Conclusion: Mobile-first is the future
As smarter and even smarter mobile devices are launched each year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more than 80% of searches done on smartphones. If the complete mobile search is the future, then going mobile-first now will put you ahead of your competition as they scuttle to jump on the bandwagon then.