Author: Bob Jan 17, 2023 8 min read
Developing a mobile site is no less important than creating a desktop one. A few years ago, the mobile version was just a supplement to the main one, but developers have changed their priorities recently. According to Statista, a little more than 50% of all traffic now comes from mobile devices, and about 56% of all purchases are made via smartphones, and these numbers are expected only to grow.
That’s why companies that don’t make an effort to provide a quality mobile-first UX risk falling far behind their competitors. Below, you’ll find some of the most common tips and tricks for creating mobile-optimized websites.
Mobile devices have been an essential part of today’s web landscape and will continue to play an important role in the future. It should also be taken into account that the number of users of mobile devices exceeded the number of desktop computer users. According to Statcounter GlobalStats, the total number of mobile users continues to grow, with a market share of 60.43% compared to desktop ones.
Mobile-first UX design is the principle according to which the UI/UX interface of a website is initially developed for extensions that are installed on smartphones. The essence of mobile-first design is that the product is initially created for mobile devices instead of a desktop version. Historically, the creation of a product starts with a website for the big screen, while for other gadgets the finished version is adapted later.
The relatively small width of the screen of a mobile device doesn’t allow you to walk around. You have to think about all the functionality and select the most important and necessary elements. Thus, you will once again define the purpose of your site — perhaps, you will discover something new, change the existing variant or come up with new functionality.
Therefore, some of the most important requirements in Mobile First design development are:
So, mobile-first is a method of developing an optimized website for a variety of mobile devices, considering the speed of the network connection and the importance of displaying the main content to the end user.
There are often questions about the difference between these two terms. So now we’ll break it down for you point by point.
Mobile-friendly means being able to adequately view the site across all devices, so the on-page content should be no wider than the display. Information on the screen should be placed in such a way that the user does not have to zoom or use horizontal scrolling. It is desirable to minimize the number of images with text. The site should not contain software for mobile devices that is not read by Google bots (for example, Flash content). It is important to place links at a sufficient distance from each other so that users can click on them without “missing”.
Mobile first is connected with a strategy of website development according to which the site is initially created for mobile devices, with subsequent adaptation to tablets and PCs. With this approach, there is no feeling that the mobile version is cut or underdeveloped – the elements do not run into each other, and all menus and links work correctly.
As with any other approach, mobile-first design has advantages and disadvantages that influence the development cycle. And now we’ll highlight a few things you should know before creating a website.
Advantages of the mobile-first UX design:
Disadvantages of the mobile-first UX design:
Responsive mobile-first web design means adjustability of the site to any screen size. This approach helps users maintain two different versions of the site, making them equally usable on computers and mobile devices.
In addition, you can manage all your web content on a centralized server, so updating content takes less time. So, you can invest your resources in making your business more efficient.
We’ve picked out 5 points for you to explain why mobile-first tendencies will be increasingly relevant in 2023. In this paragraph, you will find out what mobile-first can bring to your company if you integrate it into your strategy.
In 2023 brands are trying to catch up quickly with all UX/UI trends, so marketers and designers need to keep an eye on them and track the popularity of new technologies.
It’s also important not to forget about established mobile-first trends, such as mobile optimization, that will definitely be relevant. It is worth remembering that trends are, of course, an important factor in the site’s UX strategy, but in the pursuit of innovation, you should not sacrifice the personalization of the resource because this is a necessary puzzle of success.