The way we access the Internet has changed considerably over time. In the dawning days of the Web, the only way to seek information was through a big, bulky desktop computer. These days, it’s much more common to use the Internet via mobile browsers and apps, bringing the entire scope of the Web right into the palm of your hand.
Just how much more common is mobile Internet access? One study indicates that, in 2022, about 60 percent of online traffic came via mobile. Desktops and tablets combined contributed to 39 percent. Clearly, consumer behavior has made a decisive shift. And this shift is nothing new: For more than a decade, mobile Internet use has gained a few percentage points of popularity every single year.
Naturally, this has implications for digital marketing and web design. Simply put, if a majority of consumers access the Internet via mobile devices, our sites and apps must accommodate them. And that brings us to the mobile first movement.
Mobile First Explained
When mobile phones first became popular, there was a movement among web designers to retroactively make their sites cellphone friendly. This was largely a matter of ensuring that all Web content was accessible, legible, and easy to read on the smallest of screens, without any design elements that fail to translate to the mobile space.
The mobile first movement is a little different. As its name suggests, mobile first is about designing sites where the mobile experience is the primary way of engagement. In other words, mobile accessibility isn’t an afterthought or a retrofit. It’s the top priority. If anything, the appearance of the site on a desktop is something of an afterthought.
In short, mobile first design ensures that a website or app is optimized for all browser and device types. Doing so helps to improve the user experience, to increase engagement, and to enhance SEO performance.
What’s Involved with Mobile First Design?
Mobile first design begins with the assumption that most of your site’s visitors will be accessing the page via a mobile device… and mobile devices have smaller screens, slower loading times, and touch-based interfaces. All of these factors have an outsized effect on the user experience.
Mobile first designs:
- Are generally very simple and streamlined, designed to be easy to digest even from a mobile device.
- Load quite quickly, ideally in fewer than four seconds.
- Have simplified site hierarchies, ensuring users can access the information they desire in just two or three clicks.
- Feature content that is formatted for readability: Bullet points, white space, short sentences and paragraphs.
- Include easy-to-spot, easy-to-click calls to action and click-to-call phone numbers.
By prioritizing the mobile experience, you ensure a site that’s welcoming, intuitive, and easy to use, no matter the browser or device type. In doing so, you not only generate goodwill through an easy-to-use interface, but you also stimulate engagement and lower your bounce rate, both of which can improve your SEO visibility. (Indeed, Google increasingly prioritizes things like site speed when determining placement on the search engine results page, or SERP.)
Go Mobile First with Woland Web
Mobile first design is a non-negotiable in today’s device-dominated world. As you prepare to design a new site or refresh an older one, ensure you have a design team that puts mobile first. That’s certainly our approach at Woland Web. Reach out when you’re ready to talk further.
