Why Your Website Should be Designed Using a Mobile First Approach
The success of your business hinges on your ability to reach your target audience, generate leads, and successfully convert leads into sales. Digital marketing plays a large part in reaching your consumers. You utilize social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Your website content is optimized for search engines such as Google and you even invest in paid advertisements to make sure your brand gets in front of the right people at the right time.
What about your website design? Chances are you designed your website at the conception of your business and apart from adding and adjusting content, haven’t made any major changes since. If this is the case, then more than likely your website is not designed for mobile devices. In a digital world, business websites that do not cater to mobile users translate into a loss of potential consumers and loss of revenue. This is your guide to the importance of a mobile first website and how it will increase your customer base, sales, and revenue!
What Does Mobile First Mean?
The term mobile first, is exactly what it sounds like. It is an approach to website design that means tailoring your website to mobile device use before adapting it to desktop or other devices. In the past, websites have been designed for desktops first and hand-held devices as a secondary consideration. Think back to websites you’ve visited where you viewed the desktop version on your phone. There were no doubt glitches because it wasn’t specifically designed for it. When you view mobile first websites, you are utilizing a site that has been specifically designed and optimized for mobile use.
How Is the Mobile First Approach Different From Traditional Web Design?
The way you design your website for mobile first is quite different from traditional web design. Traditional website design focuses on large displays, pictures, videos, and putting as much information on the site as possible. This translates into a horrible experience for a mobile device user. Let’s take a look at how this differs from traditional web design:
- A stronger emphasis is placed on core functions and fully integrated modules
- Large photos and videos are kept at a minimum
- A simple layout that is easily viewed from even the smallest mobile devices
- The use of less source code
The idea is that mobile first websites are responsive and easy to navigate from any mobile device.
Why Should You Redesign Your Website for Mobile First?
The answer is quite simple…you are losing money if you are not optimizing your website for mobile use. Mobile devices are the way of the future. Did you know that 5 billion people a day browse the internet from their mobile devices? By 2025, this number is expected to increase to 6 billion people per day. In 2015, Google announced that for the first time, the number of people browsing the internet using mobile devices exceeded those using a desktop. This trend hasn’t slowed down. These are staggering numbers and if you aren’t catering to these device users, you are alienating a significant portion of your customer base.
More than 60% of Google searches in Europe come from a mobile device. Phones make 40% of online sales. These numbers make it pretty clear to see why emphasis should be placed on providing a great user experience. Even 82% of consumers who choose to purchase in-store conduct online research first.
How Can You Tell If Your Website Is Delivering a Great Experience?
Think back to a moment when you visited a website that was clearly designed for desktop. The pictures were huge and bled off the screen. You may not have even been able to see the whole page at one time on your mobile device’s screen without scrolling around. Links were near impossible to click on and pages slow to load. Chances are, this memory sticks out because it was not a good experience. This is an example of a website that is not mobile-friendly. If this is the case, users will become frustrated and leave your website without making a purchase, never to return again. Let’s take a look at the key traits that make a website friendly to mobile users.
Characteristics of a mobile first website include:
- If the website is easy to understand instantly
- Easy to navigate
- Pages are quick to load
- Links are easily clicked on
- You can see the entire page on your screen
Benefits
By far the most important benefit of a mobile first website approach is the ability to reach more of your brand’s target audience. Apart from catering to a large percentage of your customer base by redesigning your website to a mobile first approach, there are additional benefits which include:
- Even though your website is optimized for mobile devices it will be responsive on any platform, including desktop
- Your information is condensed and therefore more easily digestible by viewers
- Extends the reach of your business
- Intuitive navigation
- Cost-effective
Once you have your website optimized, it is easy to add-in functionalities for other platforms such as desktop use.
Preparing to Go Mobile First!
It’s easy to see why your company should be planning for a mobile first approach. More and more people are choosing to shop online versus brick and mortar stores. Further, many are using mobile devices to research products and make purchases. It is no longer an option but a necessity for keeping your business on the cutting edge of its industry.
Optimizing your website for any device will increase your customer base, increase sales, and most importantly increase revenue. When planning to implement this, you should begin by taking a close look at your current website. Then, make sure you have a clear understanding of your target audience.
Here at Webdesignlab4u, we are experts at revamping websites for mobile use. Our specialists will conduct a full audit of your website to make recommendations for changes and the most cost-effective way to go about accomplishing your goals. Contact us today for more information on how we can help your company move into the future!