What is Mobile-First Design and why is it so important?
3rd December 2020
In the last decade, mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives. The rise in smartphones means that the way we access the internet has evolved. Responsive web design has been a key factor of a successful website for the past decade. However, is it time we now shifted to focus on a mobile-first design?
Mobile-first design is exactly what it sounds like. Designing and wireframing for mobile screens first and then scaling up for bigger devices such as iPads and desktop. As there is limited space on mobile devices it makes sense from a UX perspective to start the design process there.
Where do I start?
First of all, you want to research how your audience access websites. As we mentioned the number of google searches on mobile is increasing. But there are still some audiences who search on desktop. If you are redesigning an existing site you can easily find this information in the google analytics. However, if you’re starting from scratch you may need to delve a bit deeper.
Some key principles
Keep the design simple. With a smaller screen space, good and easy navigation is essential. Consider how any pop-ups or complicated layouts affect the customer journey.
Prioritise key information such as how customers can get in touch. You still want to ensure you have a high conversion rate. Highlight your CTA and utilise features such as SMS text messaging.
How does mobile-first design impact SEO?
In 2018 Google announced that they were starting to use mobile-first indexing. Mobile-first indexing means that Google will look at the mobile version of a website in order to rank it before the desktop version. Therefore you want your mobile version to be the best it can be.
Conclusion
If from your research you discover your audience are predominantly accessing websites via mobile devices then it would be a missed opportunity to enhance your customer experience to not use a mobile-first design approach. If you need any more advice or want to speak to some experts with experience in this field – get in touch.
