04 Sep Why You Need to Design Your Website to Mobile First

Most small businesses know that having a website is important. It can help them establish an online presence, is a great marketing tool and is essential for reaching new customers in today’s digital age. However, the technology industry is always evolving and one of the biggest innovations over the past few years all has to do with our mobile phones.

In today’s day and age, people access websites more with their mobile phones than they do with any other device. Consumers aren’t just using their desktop computers to get online. This is why it is important that businesses that are creating a new website, set that site to “mobile first.”

What does “mobile first” mean and why is it important? We are here to tell you why.

What is Mobile First?

In 2010 at the Mobile World Congress, the CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, stated that designers should follow what is known as the “mobile first” rule in product design.

While not everyone took this suggestion to heart as seriously as they should have, in today’s day and age—it has never been so important.

Simply put, the rule states, when you create a new website, you should make it for mobile sites first and then go back to verify it to work for desktop computers. It’s kind of like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

Unfortunately, desktop computers are a dying medium, yet companies are still making websites for this medium and then trying to change them after the fact to work for mobile sites.

Instead, the process can be much easier, by making websites for mobile devices first and then making sure they also work on desktops. There are five billion mobile phone users on the planet right now—so why not make sure you are targeting them?

What Google Says

Google has already made it clear, that this approach will not only save companies time and money but it will help with search engine optimization as well—which is something that all businesses need to focus on.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that just because your website is “mobile responsive” meaning it also works on mobile sites, doesn’t mean it is “mobile first.” A “mobile first” site is a design strategy that considers the needs of mobile users first so that they have a better experience on your site when accessing it from their phone. Over half of all internet traffic occurs on mobile devices, and the number is steadily growing. This is why it is necessary to cater to the needs of mobile users prior to desktop users.

If you are looking for more information on designing a mobile website, then contact the experts here at Life In Motion. We can help you create a mobile-friendly website that will not only help you rank highly on Google, but one that will help make sure you are reaching the most customers possible.