Creating Responsive Web Designs for Mobile-First Audiences
Do you want to know why half of your site visitors are bouncing? Chances are it's because your website looks awful on their smartphone. With over 60% of web traffic being from mobile devices, not having a mobile responsive site is like throwing money away.
The good news? There are easy steps you can take to shift your strategy to mobile-first. Let's dive in.
What you'll learn:
What Mobile-First Design Really Means
Why Responsive Design Is Important Than Ever
Building Sites That Convert for Mobile-First Users
Mobile Design Mistakes To Avoid
What mobile-first design really means
Mobile-first design is pretty much what it sounds like. You start with the smallest screen first (mobile). Then you build up the design for tablets and desktop screens. It's almost the exact opposite of what most companies do when building new websites.
Consider this…Designing mobile-first forces you to focus on the essentials. When you have limited space, no room for distractions or irrelevant features. You make it easier for people to convert.
Responsive web design services that design mobile-first understand this. That's why your web design agency and your web development agency will design for mobile devices from the get-go.
The thing is…Google is now rolling out mobile-first indexing. Meaning Google will now crawl and index your mobile website before your desktop version.
So if your mobile site is a joke, your rankings will drop. Simple as that.
Why responsive design is important than ever
Look at these numbers…73.1% of users will leave your website if it's not responsive.
Whoa! Three out of four visitors is insane.
Responsive design means your site scales to fit any device screen size automatically. It's perfect for mobile users, tablets, and desktops. Plus, you'll get conversions. Mobile pages that load in 1 second convert three times more than mobile pages that take 5 seconds. Each second you cost your visitor is money down the drain.
The problem is… Most businesses still focus on desktop first and view mobile as an afterthought. Meanwhile 83% of all landing page visits come from mobile devices.
Doesn't add up, does it?
How to build sites that convert for mobile-first users
Building a mobile-first website is no big deal, but it does take a slightly different mindset than your traditional web design services approach. Here are the key areas to focus on.
Content prioritization
When designing for mobile, you must decide what is essential on each page and make it front and center.
Your main call to action or conversion goal should be immediately visible without scrolling. Navigation menus should be simple, intuitive, and thumb-friendly. Nobody wants to squint at tiny buttons or pinch and zoom all over your website.
Design for touch
Desktop users have a mouse. Mobile visitors have fingers. Buttons need to be big enough to easily tap. Links should have enough spacing so users don't hit the wrong one by accident.
Forms should be simplified with as few fields as possible and large input areas.
Optimize for speed
Speed is critical for mobile websites. Compress your images, minify your code, and use lazy loading for off-screen content. Every millisecond you shave off those load times will pay off in higher conversion rates.
Don't forget that over 64% of Google searches now come from mobile. Mobile usability is also a top-ranking factor according to Google.
If your site is slow to load, you're invisible.
Common mobile design mistakes to avoid
So what's the #1 thing that can make or break a mobile site? If you guessed 'content', you're wrong. It's actually your website visitors' desktop experience.
Mobile-first does NOT mean mobile-only. Some people make the mistake of optimizing so much for mobile that they forget desktop users even exist. The reality is your desktop site should also be excellent.
Of course, mobile comes first, but don't sacrifice your desktop site in the process.
Here are some more common mobile design mistakes to avoid.
Tiny text and buttons
Some people design with a font size of 12px. Everything needs to be legible without zooming and buttons need to have plenty of white space around them.
Aggressive pop-ups
Seriously, do yourself a favor and avoid those full-screen popups on mobile. If you want to use a pop-up on mobile, make sure it's extremely easy to dismiss. A small top or bottom banner is even better.
Non-responsive images
Images that don't scale correctly on mobile are the kiss of death. Either they get cut off, or they force the user to scroll horizontally. Use responsive images that resize automatically instead.
If you get these basic elements right, your mobile design will already be head and shoulders above most of your competition.
The mobile-first development process
Here's the proper way to build a mobile-first responsive website.
Mobile wireframes. Sketch out how your pages will look on a phone first. Focus on the main user journey without distractions.
Mobile styles first. Write your CSS for mobile devices first, then add media queries for larger screens. This is known as progressive enhancement.
Test on real devices. Don't just resize your browser. Test your site on actual phones and tablets. They all behave differently.
Measure everything. Use analytics to understand how mobile users interact with your site. Where are they dropping off? Which pages load slow?
Then measure and optimize based on real data.
Making the switch to mobile-first
Switching to a mobile-first approach seems hard, especially if you have an existing website built the traditional way. But it's the only way.
You can start small. Pick your top-performing landing pages and redo them with a mobile-first approach. Test and see the results. You'll be blown away at how much conversion rates and bounce rates improve.
The mobile revolution is not coming. It's here. And the companies not playing will get crushed while everyone else fights over that mobile traffic.
Wrapping it up
Mobile-first responsive web design is no longer optional. With most of your web traffic coming from mobile phones, you risk losing a massive growth opportunity if you don't put mobile first.
The mobile-first strategy is simple. Build for mobile screens first. Everything must be touch-friendly and fast. Test on real devices continuously. Optimize the user experience based on user data.
The good thing is web design and development agencies that understand mobile-first principles will help you build sites that convert across all devices. But the concept remains the same no matter who does the work…
Put your mobile users first, and everything else will fall into place.
Your competition is already making the switch. The question is will you lead or follow?