By Erik Williams on Jun 20, 2021
Today, mobile phones have changed the way the world works. It touches every aspect of human life. For most people, the first thing they look at after waking up is the mobile screen, and the last thing that they see before going to sleep is the mobile screen. So, to say that it is important for business would be an understatement.
But even though it is a well-known fact, many business owners are still designing and developing websites for desktops and then trying to make them work on mobile. In reality, it should be the other way round. Because mobile is not a trend anymore, rather it has become a lifestyle for our generation.
Do you know, 57% of internet users say they will not recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile. And more than that, search engines like Google also favor mobile-optimized websites.
In this article, we’ll discuss what it means to have a mobile-first approach and tips on adopting the mobile-first approach while designing a website. So, let’s begin.
The mobile-first design approach first came into the limelight in 2010 when Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, announced that the company would adopt design practices that focus more on mobile users.
The reason behind his statement was quite simple. Small screens have very limited space. So, when you design for them, you choose essential elements that are needed most by the users while ignoring fluff.
When you expand your design for a bigger screen, that is, laptops or desktops, you can provide the users with advanced elements that will make the life of such a power user easier.
In other words, it is a web development strategy that considers mobile user’s needs first. It creates a better experience for these users by starting the design process from small screens. Instead of creating a desktop site and then forcing it to fit into a mobile screen, you start with a small screen. It is also easier to scale up to big sizes than scale down from big design elements to small ones.
This approach aims to create a website that is usable on mobile devices and optimized for mobile devices.
Designing your website for mobile will not be challenging as long as you keep these tips in mind. When you adopt this strategy in the right way, it will improve user engagement, improving click rates and conversions.
HTML frameworks have made web design much more accessible. Forbes recently pointed out that users can now use frameworks like Foundation and Bootstrap for front-end and back-end user interfaces. Such frameworks use a grid-based content structure with rows and columns for content and app interfaces.
Responsive frameworks like HTML automatically enhance the web design for mobile phones, allowing you to focus on the functions and features for the content matter to your customers.
Simplicity will always get you better results than complexity in most things in life, and your website design is no exception. But it is even more crucial to keep it simple, especially when designing for mobile because these devices have smaller screens. The users who use these devices are normally goal-oriented. They want to quickly and easily reach and view what they’re looking for, and a simple and clear website design can help them do so.
Keep only those essential elements; never burden your mobile users with elements like ads, pop-ups, and other content they don’t want to see.
Speaking of customers, providing yours with a great experience on your website should be the web designer’s top priority. Your site should be informative, easy to navigate, and intuitive to what the user wants to do.
Prioritizing UX might prompt you to focus on advanced features, but it is often the most basic thing that turns visitors off. What if the text looks differently on a desktop than it appears on mobile devices. Without optimizing it for mobile, users have to zoom in to read it. As you most probably know yourself, nobody enjoys having to do that.
To solve this issue, use points instead of pixels for font sizes. Or you can opt for our web development services to optimize your font sizes and other design styles.
In 2018 Google included page loading speed as a ranking factor for mobile searches. Optimizing your load speed not only lowers bounce rates but also bodes well for your site’s SEO. You can improve your site’s speed by following the tactics:
As a leading web development services provider, we will optimize your site according to the aforementioned tactics.
Navigation plays an important role in any website’s success. It allows visitors to flow from one page to another easily. But in the same way, it can also hamper your site’s success, and you can lose many visitors due to poor navigation.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re designing a website for desktop or mobile users. It should offer convenient navigation to the visitors. But in the case of mobile, you have to shrink your navigation bar down to the fewest possible options and place the secondary elements into an easy-to-reach navigational button.
We at Umbrella offer website accessibility services. We can help you build sites that everyone can use.
Testing your website on different mobile sizes is extremely important. But this testing isn’t a one-time activity. You have to keep testing and retesting your website across multiple devices regularly. Because every year, dozens of new phones come in the market, and just because your site looks good on one device doesn’t mean it’ll look good on others too.
Account for everything from older phone models to the new tablets in the market. Even on browsers having a small user base like internet explorer, it’s essential to ensure your site performs smoothly.
Adopting the mobile-first approach has evolved from an option to a necessity. So, start designing your mobile-first website to give your users the best possible experience.
Your website should also be accessible to everyone. Because it is now mandatory in the US to have your website accessible for users with disabilities under the American with Disabilities Act (The ADA). It can result in fines as well as prosecution if your site does not meet ADA regulations. You can opt for our website accessibility services to build or remap your site that everyone can use.
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