Mobile-First Design Approach – The future of web design

April 10, 2020

The hottest topic today in the niche of website design and development is the mobile-first design approach. You probably might have heard about it by now. Are you wondering what is the difference between responsive design and mobile-first design? Here it is in a nutshell. The responsive web design means the website adjusts to any screen including desktop, tablet and mobile for reader-friendliness.

On the other hand, mobile-first design approach means you begin to build your website that is compatible on the mobile-first and go forward for all other devices. Responsiveness is brought in by specific web development techniques by deploying queries that alter CSS styles and modify the web layout. In the past, the designers began from the desktop versions first as it garnered the most users.

Now the scenario is completely different where the vast majority of visitors come from the mobile. Hence the mobile-first design approach is designing a website for the smartphone first and later on upgrading to desktop and laptop versions.

Why is the mobile-first design approach trending?

1. Google favours mobile-first designs while ranking websites in searches.

2. Mobile-first designs optimised specifically for smartphones generate more leads and help in boosting conversions.

3. Mobile-first designs boost your website quality

4. Mobile-first design largely depends on relevant only content hence resulting in minimalism and simplicity which will resonate well with your users.

5. The mobile-first design makes you look modern, sophisticated, useful and straightforward.

How to implement it?

1. Design elements for mobile first Once you have decided to build your site ground up, start designing elements for the mobile with minimalism. Create eye-catching icons that make navigation crystal clear for the users. Let the icons be properly spaced to enable easy touch responses for users while on the website.

2. Keep user-friendliness as the main priority.For a design to be successful it has to be practical and problem-solving Keep the user in your mind and create a simplified process to arrive at a solution with minimal navigation and clicks by the user. This is a winning recipe for a successful design concept.

3. Optimised content.Ensure you only add relevant content that people can easily scan rather than carefully read line by line. Make your you add enough animated and video elements to traverse easily through the content. Scrolling is always better than clicking hence let the content flow rather than redirecting the user to another page. Split long content into relevant paragraphs with headlines for the users to skim through.

4. Videos are attention-grabbing. Despite the hit on the speed, the videos determine user decision up to 90% according to statistics. Videos are relevant for every industry to explain products, services or the story behind your brand. Videos are of great use as it minimises content optimisation for the designers and also helps to retain the attention of the visitors .

   In conclusion – Mobile-first design gains a thumbs up. Mobile first-design definitely bear fruits for all the work and effort it takes. The incredible benefits make it the right choice to stand out amongst your competitors in the fast-paced world. Addressing the pain points of the users and rectifying them through simplified and minimalized mobile-first design is sure to make you noticed amongst all the clutter.