What is Mobile First design?
Did you know that in recent years the number of queries in search engines mainly come from smartphones, and not from laptops or computers? Over 95% of these requests occur in Google.
A smartphone is always at hand. A smartphone is what makes online shopping convenient. Did you know that most online purchases are made at night and especially when a person suffers from insomnia? The impulsiveness of purchases is the key to profit and it’s important to provide all the conditions for this impulsiveness if you really think about profit.
That’s why you need to make sure that your website is designed to be convenient to use from a smartphone. That’s why you need a mobile first design.
But what needs to be done for this?
Content-first
So, how does mobile first design influence on content?
Smartphones have significant screen size limitations. This feature must be respected. It’s important to remember that the screen sizes are different and you need to make the site in such a way that it’s equally well displayed on different smartphones.
Of course, content is the most important thing on any website. So, it means you should pay attention to this, creating your mobile first website.
Don’t forget about SEO
You should always remember that good mobile first design always includes such points:
Page title
Your page title shouldn’t be longer than 60-75 characters. Try to create a unique title. But this text should perfect describe your page content. Remember long titles could be broken on the mobile version. Laconic is the key for you in this case.
Page description
Describe the page so that a typical user immediately understands what he’ll find on it. User interest is pragmatic. Keep this in mind when your copywriter is working on page descriptions. Define the average volume and symbol limit so that all descriptions look ordered and beautiful in visual terms.
Content
Make sure all your videos and pictures are flexible. They should automatically change their size depending on the screen size of a smartphone.
Important little things
If you decide to create a mobile first website, then you shouldn’t forget that some details will differ significantly. And you always need to think over such details in advance that both you and your team knew exactly what result you expect to get.
One example of such little things is the menu. On the widescreen of the laptop or even tablet you can see the menu, the number of items in which totals a couple of dozen. But when it comes to the screen of a smartphone, it’s hardly worth hoping that the menu on the smartphone will remain in the same form.
Pay attention to such transformations. Find out what ways to create a menu exist, and only then create your own.
The most important thing is that your mobile menu should be clickable. It should be simple because the target of any menu is to help users to find something but not to make it harder. So, much better to create a simple menu than a complicated one. Your users will necessarily appreciate your choice.
There is not only an adaptation
You should understand the difference between mobile first design and responsive design. The goal of the responsive design is solely to ensure that each element is successfully squeezed to the right size under different circumstances. The purpose of mobile first design is to make the site specifically for smartphones, and on its basis to prepare a version for the PC.
Yes, elements in your mobile first design can and should be compressed, but the goal is completely different. The more convenient your website will be for users with smartphones, the greater its chances that users will spend more time there and, accordingly, make more purchases.
Google and mobile first
In 2015, Google announced a new algorithm, according to which, mobile versions of websites were considered as the main ones.
Alas, websites that didn’t have mobile versions immediately got hooked in search results. But those who had it rose, depending on how many requirements these mobile versions met.
Since then, the trend for mobile versions has been introduced. Is it worth arguing with Google if you already know what percentage of requests it processes? Then the companies began to make mobile versions, more actively than usual.
At about the same time, the mobile first approach is becoming popular, and users are starting to spend even more time on the Internet with their smartphones for that.
One of the best examples of mobile first design
Have you ever seen the website of Esquire? Check it if you are really interested in creating process of mobile first design because there is one of the greatest examples you would ever see.
The problem of responsive design is that mobile versions sometimes look inferior. For responsive design, a large screen version is first created and then reduced to a smartphone screen. And this is the catch, although it’s not visible at the first look.
When you take up mobile first design, this problem doesn’t arise. Notice how the Esquire’s website is moving from the mobile version to the version for a larger screen! Now you understand what the point is.
There are some requirements for your mobile first design
Make sure your mobile first design satisfies these requirements:
- Correct display of information in any position of the smartphone;
- All elements on the screen are clickable;
- There are no pop-ups that could prevent users from exploring your site;
- Contact number and mail are available by click or at least you can simply copy them;
- The registration form has short fields;
- In the registration fields there is an autocomplete property;
- Simple navigation;
- Lack of horizontal scrolling;
- Not add to much graphics;
- Missing heavy images slowing down the loading of the site;
- It’s possible to make a purchase simply in one click;
- Image size changes automatically.
If your mobile first design meets these requirements, then you did everything right. Most likely you got a great mobile first design. Users will get a lot of positive emotions by shopping on your website. This approach will make shopping even easier and more convenient.
This means only one thing, with the time you’ll have regular customers, and income will only grow. But it’s important to know for sure that for this you have done everything possible.
Do you need a team?
Of course, when you read the dead text, which describes how to make mobile first design, it seems that all this is done very simply. But as soon as you start trying, there are many unexpected situations, the solution of which is extremely unique and depends more on the specifics of your product or service. Therefore, the most important questions cannot be answered on the Internet.
You can always ask for help from those whose work involves creating websites. Thus, you won’t only build a reliable mobile first design for yourself but also learn about trends in this area, learn what you couldn’t think about before. Specialists will share with you invaluable experience, which is why your business will only win. You can always spot the site, created by a professional or by an amateur and especially if it’s a mobile first. But the choice is yours. Does it worth to save on what you are going to earn?
Speed is the path to good profit
The advantage of mobile first design lies in the fact that such websites often load very quickly. Mobile users don’t like to wait. If your website loads for longer than a couple of seconds, then expect losses. But since you decided to make mobile first design, then you are unlikely to encounter this problem.
Clear advantages of mobile first design
Now you know the benefits of mobile first design. You know what was the beginning of the popularity of this type of design. Know what privileges mobile first will bring to your business. Now it’s up to you.
Mobile first design isn’t just a special approach to creating a site, it’s a vision that distinguishes these sites favorably. Try to create your website using the secrets described in this article and you’ll be surprised at the result. Never before have websites looked so beautiful and functional at the same time.
