Should You Consider a Mobile-First Website Design?
Mobile-first: a look into a top design trend
Web design trends come and go—sometimes so quickly that it can be difficult to keep track of. For folks who build and maintain websites for a living, staying on top of these trends is an essential part of the job.
Fortunately, these trends are rarely out of left field; typically, they’re closely tied to other marketing and content trends. Take, for example, mobile-first design.
One of the top design trends of 2017, mobile-first design is a fairly natural next step following a year when mobile browsing officially outpaced desktop usage. Customers are going mobile, marketers know it, and now, web designers are building for that.
But what exactly does it mean to build mobile-first, and is it something you should consider?
What Is Mobile-First Design?
Mobile-first design is exactly what it sounds like—building a website with mobile in mind first, and then making it scalable for desktop viewing. It sounds simple, but it’s a pretty radical departure from the way that sites have been built.
Instead of creating a secondary mobile site—one where users are redirected to a version of the main desktop site—mobile-first sites are created with mobile users in mind, meaning their user experience takes the front seat.
This makes sense in our digital world; as many as a quarter of web users are mobile-only, meaning the only version of your website they’ll ever see is the mobile one. And thanks to social sharing and search algorithms that prioritize loading time, even folks who’d normally find you on desktop may be cruising from their phone or tablet. When they do, it’s smart to be ready for them.
Benefits of Mobile-First
Aside from the obvious benefit of mobile-first design—the fact that it guarantees your mobile users have a good experience on your site—there are other reasons marketers are asking designers to build sites like this.
Mobile-first sites tend to be nimbler; when designers are constrained by what works on a tiny touch-screen, rather than a giant browser page, they build for speed and ease of use. From there, they can progressively enhance the design to be useful and exciting on a larger screen.
That’s a contrast to building desktop-first, where designers have to build something and then pare it down for mobile. The result? A more robust experience all around.
Mobile browsing and mobile responsive website design is officially the norm, now, and UI and UX designers are taking note. Users are, as well—which means if your website isn’t up to par on a range of devices, you might be missing out on client interactions.
If your website is ready for a mobile overhaul, our designers can help.
A Great Website Starts With Great Design
Let our experienced online marketing team of 40 web design and development professionals help you develop a professional website that sets your business apart from the rest. Please call 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form to contact a web design specialist for more information.
Learn more about Senior Living Link, the site featured in the post overview image, in our Senior Living Link Client Spotlight blog post.