A mobile first design has become a necessity for business apps keeping in mind the mobile usage trends. To put this into perspective, mobile usage stats show that 81.6% of Americans own a smartphone in 2023. Most of them spend an average of 5 hours and 24 minutes on their mobile device each day. This is why you need a mobile first approach in your business. You should ensure that all your websites or applications are designed with mobile devices in mind, rather than being a secondary consideration. Here are some key tips and steps to help you implement a mobile first design.
Understand the Users’ Needs
The first step in implementing a mobile first design is to understand the users’ needs. It is important to know the target audience and what they are looking for in a mobile-friendly website or mobile app. This can be achieved by conducting user research and gathering feedback from existing users. This will help in designing a mobile website or application that is intuitive and user-friendly.
As a rule of thumb, ensure you design your apps and websites for small screens. Keep in mind that mobile devices have smaller screens. So, the design needs to be optimized for them. This also means that the design needs to be simple, with a clear hierarchy of information. The font size needs to be large enough to be easily readable on a mobile device, and the design needs to be optimized for touch screen devices.
Test for Mobile & Iterate
The other critical part in implementing a mobile first design is to test and iterate. It is important to test the website or application on different mobile devices and screen sizes to ensure that it is working properly. You can use a mobile testing platform to drive faster releases and deliver mobile experiences that delight your customers. A real device testing platform lets you perform all the gestures you need to test on a real device. It allows you to tap, swipe, and scroll on a cloud device to simulate experiences on different mobile devices.
Use a Responsive Design
You should also invest in responsive design. A responsive design allows the website or web application to adapt to different screen sizes. This means that the website or application will look good on a desktop computer as well as on a mobile device. A responsive design is important for a mobile first approach because it ensures that the user experience is consistent across different devices.
Optimize for Speed
Some mobile devices have slower internet connections than desktop computers, so it is important to optimize the website or application for speed. This can be achieved by using optimized images, compressing files, and minimizing the use of JavaScript. The beauty is that there are tools like image optimization plugins that can help you compress images without losing quality. You can also use image editing software like Adobe Photoshop or free online tools like Canva or Pixlr to resize images before you upload them.
Prioritize your Content
Last but not least, ensure you prioritize the content. Research has shown that mobile users have limited time and attention span, so it is important to prioritize the content and present it in a clear and concise manner. This means that the most important content should be displayed at the top of the screen, and unnecessary content should be removed.
Wrapping up
As a business, you must prioritize mobile design and development in order to stay relevant and meet the evolving needs of your consumer. It is thus time to create a mobile experience focused on simplicity, speed, and user-centric design!
