Google announced more than five years ago that mobile search queries outnumbered desktop and the shift to a mobile-first approach to website design began.
If your business website doesn’t follow a mobile-first web design approach or you just never bothered to check, you could be at a disadvantage and losing potential customers because of an unpleasant or sub-par mobile experience. If you want to know what mobile-first web design is and why you should be focusing on mobile-first, you’ve clicked on the right place.
Firstly, what is mobile-first web design?
Mobile-first web design means designing for mobile-first. Prioritizing the small screen first and then gradually scaling to bigger screens. This method ensures a seamless user journey on the various types of screens. The key principle of mobile-first design is to focus on what you want the website to do.
On mobile, more emphasis is placed on the core function of a web page. And as you scale to bigger screens, more elements are added to occupy space.
What are the benefits of adopting a mobile-first design?
The first main benefit of mobile-first is the emphasis on the core content or function of a website. The user experience is better because there’s a clear focus on what the customer needs to see. Plus, the navigation is easier, and customers find what they are looking for with ease.
Accessibility is another important factor in mobile-first web design. Mobile is the most accessible way of connecting to the internet. Especially in South Africa where most people have access to the internet through their smartphones, tailoring your business to suit the demographic needs is invaluable. Netflix recently announced its plan to tailor their packages to suit the mobile-driven South African consumer.
Read more about the factors you have to take into account for your own business when deciding to focus on mobile-first:
What is the difference between responsive design and mobile-first?
Responsive design means ensuring that your website can be viewed from any device. This can be done by shrinking your browser to tablet size and then gradually to mobile. Responsive design starts with desktop and scales down to mobile.
In mobile-first design, the mobile site gets created first and the core functions of the webpage take precedent.
Is mobile-first right for my business?
There’s no need to scramble to switch to a mobile-first strategy but you do need to optimize for mobile. Soon, search engines like Google will progressively adopt a mobile-first indexing strategy. Also, take note of where the bulk of your website traffic comes from because that will inform your decision.
If you’re yet to take your business online, then consider mobile-first web design. Do a domain search and register your domain with us. Pick the right web hosting package and use our professional web design team to bring your vision to life.
Refer to this concise guideline by Google about mobile-first best practice:
https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/mobile-first-indexing
