Whether you are a brand-new business owner or you have been in the game for some time, if you have a website then you’ve more than likely heard the expression ‘mobile first’ used before. The question is: what does mobile first mean? And just how important is it for your online business? If you aren’t quite sure, read on and we’ll break it down for you
What does ‘mobile first’ mean?
Mobile first quite simply refers to the process of designing a website with mobile device use in mind. Traditionally, a website used to be designed to look good and function well on a desktop computer. Today however, with ‘mobile first’, the intention is to design the website primarily for mobile use.
Make no mistake, ‘mobile first’ does not mean ‘desktop second’. Your website must function well on any device – and that is the point; usability and accessibility, no matter what.
Have you ever visited a website before using a mobile device and found yourself having to ‘pinch and grab’ the screen while trying to navigate the website? Having to zoom in and awkwardly click on a link (only to hit the wrong one)? If you have, then you will be all too familiar with what a poorly optimised website looks and feels like. They missed the mobile first memo!
On the other hand, when you visit a website on a mobile device and it loads up wonderfully with a crystal clear UX, beautiful design, and it is effortless to navigate: that is what mobile first is all about.
Why is mobile first so important for an online business?
Put it this way: if your website does not support mobile devices you’ll be losing a lot of business. Sure, some website visitors may struggle through the horrible user experience, however, most people will abandon your website immediately and go to your competitors.
This is not ideal.
For reference, more than 60% of all online searches are carried out on a mobile device – even more so for local searches. That is a huge number and you need to ensure that your website caters to their device and provides the ultimate level of accessibility.
Another benefit of having a mobile-first website is trust and authority. For example, if you typed “SEO agency Singapore”, clicked on the first website, and then found yourself trying to navigate a poorly designed website, ‘pinching and grabbing’ your way around it, how confident are you going to feel about hiring them to look after your website and provide you with superior white label SEO?
Not very confident at all!
The good news is that any reputable web developer worth their salt will design you a website with mobile first in mind as standard. However, if you have had a website for some time and you’ve recently decided that you would like to start driving more traffic towards it, you’re going to have to double-check and make sure that it has been optimized accordingly for mobile use.
Conclusion
We all know how important first impressions are. So, go mobile-first and ensure that all your website visitors chance upon a beautifully designed website that is accessible, easy to navigate, and effortlessly guides them toward a positive conclusion. This is the key (among many others) to your long-term online success.
