Importance of Designing a Website for Mobile

In these technology-driven times, there has been a spurt in the number of mobile phone users. Consumers turn to mobile to optimize their lives, from connecting with the outside world to shopping, from getting directions to using fitness apps, from exploring recipes to staying current, and what not. If you are a startup looking to make a remarkable presence online, you ought to opt for a mobile-first design. Your website is the digital face of your brand and a mobile-friendly design can expand your reach and audience, especially as more than 50 percent of B2B search queries are made on smartphones. Websites that ignore mobile users are more likely to lose out in the long run, receive fewer and shorter visits, get less traffic, and receive lower engagement rate.

Importance of Mobile First Design

Meeker 2018 Internet Trends report reveals that an average consumer spends 3.3 hours on mobile engaging with digital media. These statistics emphasize the need to make your website mobile friendly to harness the potential of mobile, which is hugely driving consumer purchase behavior.

So what does it mean when we talk about the importance of a mobile-first design site?

Well, in simple words, mobile-friendly web design is critical to the functioning and performance of a website on any mobile device. If you are looking to get started with your online presence, mobile-friendly website design should be your first priority. This means that your website should be sized and coded for seamless functioning on a mobile device.

Responsive web design is:

• Visually appealing with an optimal viewing experience
• Easy to read without the need to zoom in
• Easy to navigate without any horizontal scrolling

Recent studies by Google substantiate the need for a mobile-friendly website for every business, irrespective of size. The 2017 Google statistics reveal that people opt to interact more with brands on mobile. This clearly reflects that a brand with a mobile-first design enjoys greater popularity and traffic than the one without a responsive web design.

Mobile-First Design

SocPub statistics reveal that about 57 percent of consumers prefer not to recommend a brand with a poorly designed mobile website. Consumers are happier to visit mobile-first websites that offer them value, load fast, and are appealing to the eye.

So what do these statistics tell?

Well, if you don’t have a mobile-first web design, you are losing out to the competition, as more than half of prospective customers are going to your competitors with responsive web design.

In another survey, 50% of participants admitted that they would use a website less often if it is not designed for mobile.

Typically, the modern consumer wants a fast, frictionless mobile experience. They want a website to be fast and accessible from a smartphone, besides offering them valuable information.

Additionally, today’s consumer is unwilling to wait. That means if your mobile website takes ages to load, the user chooses to abandon the site. So how much is too much when it comes to the load time?

Typically, 47 percent of mobile users expect a website to load in less than 3 seconds.

Should You Opt for Mobile-First or Responsive Design

Unlike a responsive website that simply resizes the desktop version for mobile, a mobile-first design is for mobile alone. Moreover, your desktop website may lose out some features on mobile, because some aspects cannot be recreated on a mobile screen.

When the idea is to expand your reach and engage consumers, you ought to opt for a mobile-first design to give visitors an optimal viewing experience. Remember, anything designed for mobile can be easily viewed on a desktop. So you are in a win-win situation when you opt for a mobile-first website.