Why Is Mobile-First Web Design Important?

Posted at Sep 30, 2020 7:30:00 AM by THAT Agency | Share

Historically speaking, most web designers have started with the desktop side of any website project and worked their way down until they reach the mobile side. This practice was tried and true. It allowed for the large-scale visualization of the website before one had to imagine the web design sized to fit in the palm of your hand.

A web designer using a tablet to create a mobile-first website layout

The Importance of Mobile-First Web Design

While desktop-first design was helpful for large-scale visualization, mobile-first design became a priority thanks largely to a 2010 keynote given by Google's then-CEO Eric Schmidt. The observations Schmidt made in his speech set the stage for mobile-first design eventually becoming the necessity it is today - so much so that mobile-first indexing is enabled by default for all new websites (new to the web or previously unknown to Google Search).

However, Google is not solely responsible for the shift to mobile-first web design. More and more people have ditched their desktop computers in favor of smart phones and tablets. Thus, Google Search has merely responded to changes in its users' preferences.

An illustration showing the progression of mobile-first web design

With mobile-first design so firmly tied to user experience (UX), it's no wonder that UX will soon become an important Google Search ranking factor. A new update called Google Page Experience is slated to go live sometime in 2021 and will include the evaluation of Core Web Vitals and existing Search signals such as mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines.

The Result

Web designers who create beautiful websites built to function properly on desktop are no longer able to treat mobile design as an after thought. This brings forth an important question - what constitutes as mobile-first web design?

A web designer creating a mobile-first website layout

Mobile-First Web Design Defined

To understand mobile-first web design, let's revisit the importance of responsive web design.

If you're like us, you can't count the number of times you have viewed a website on your iPhone. Pulling up a website on a desktop computer has become a rare occurrence - especially outside of your workplace. That being said, when a website is NOT responsive - when you realize you have to manually zoom in to see the navigation or content - you likely exit that site and move on to another website with a more friendly UX.

In other words, responsive mobile-first web design isn't a niche or a trend. In fact, it's not even in the future - it's the present. The global mobile population amounts to approximately 4 billion unique users. Mobile devices account for about 48 percent of web page views worldwide. The craziest fact of all is that the Americas and Europe have the highest mobile broadband subscription penetration rate, around 97.1 percent and 93.6 percent respectively. This means there is a strong possibility that most people will only ever see the mobile view of your website.

A mobile-first website being laid out by a professional web designer

In Conclusion

Mobile-first web design is a MUST. By placing your website's mobile UX at the forefront, you can ensure your site is seen by as many web users as possible.

Ready to revamp your website's UX by rolling out a fresh, responsive, mobile-first web design? Contact the web designers at THAT Agency today at 561.832.6262.