A Brief Introduction To Mobile First

To the standard web user, Mobile First web design may be a bit of an afterthought as to the convenience of their experience when browsing a mobile friendly website. 

However, to the web developer community, it is crucial in ensuring that the user has the best experience while using a website.

The Mobile First approach is pretty much exactly what it says on the box - the process of building a website that is focused around the mobile screen first and optimising it to larger screens. This ensures that the website is perfectly optimised for wide a range of mobile devices beyond the desktop. Here are a few reasons why I think the Mobile First approach is the key to building a great website:

Users are moving to mobile.

One of the main reasons that Mobile First is so important is due to the fact that more and more people are now accessing websites using their mobiles. This is largely due to the rise in popularity of smartphones with an estimated 2 billion smartphones currently in use globally. As a result, increasing numbers of people now care more about their mobile surfing experience than how a website works on their desktops. Whether the site is an e-commerce website or a simple website that provides the user with information, the site needs to be easily accessible so that users can land on the site and find the information they’re looking for quickly and easily.

Better user experience.

By using the Mobile First approach you are creating a better and more meaningful experience for the end user. This is achieved by firstly structuring the content so that it is easy to view and secondly optimising things such as images so that they have a small impact on the load times on mobile devices. In addition, features such as ‘click to call’ make it even easier for people to get in contact with businesses.

A minimalistic approach.

The Mobile First approach is a more minimalistic approach in comparison to starting out with a large design that is full of features and content and then adding media queries to make it mobile friendly. The Mobile First approach means you start with the bare essentials and only add the things that are absolutely essentially. This means an all-round better experience for the user and means the user isn’t being bombarded with content and features that do not apply to their device.

If you would like help building a top-quality, fully optimised website of your own, why not get in touch.