Mobile Websites – design it FIRST!
Mobile First Design
The idea of responsive design isn’t just limited to full websites scaling down smaller. There is a very good reason that we suggest to start with mobile and build your way up.
If you still have it in your head that mobile web design and application development is a niche industry, you need to change your way of thinking. Mobile isn’t a trend, nor is it even the future, it’s the present. Don’t believe me? Here are some crazy statistics to consider from Mobithinking from last month.
- There are over 1.2 billion mobile web users worldwide
- In the U.S., 25% of mobile Web users are mobile-only (they rarely use a desktop to access the web)
- Mobile apps have been downloaded 10.9 billion times
- Mobile device sales are increasing across the board with over 85 percent of new handsets able to access the mobile Web
One of the most potent facts here is the second item, which brings to light that many users will likely only ever see the mobile version of your site. That’s an astounding revelation isn’t it?
More than ever before the web is something that we carry in our pockets, not something that merely hangs out near our desk or even in our homes. This is a global trend that will only continue to see growth in the coming years. Are you ready for this?
It is often much easier to plan your most important interface elements first and squeeze each of them into a mobile layout. If they don’t all fit you will have to drop a few. Simultaneously you could plan for how the layout will respond as the window grows larger. You will have room to include a sidebar, possibly 2 sidebars, along with numerous other page elements.
Mobile isn’t a trend
Most desktop browsers will be happy with any style of layout, as long as everything works. This is much more difficult to nail down on mobile platforms so it’s useful to start out small while planning for a larger design.
Our professional skill set includes web development for all important platforms as well as the desktop arena.
Make sure you seriously consider getting the mobile version of your website sorted early rather than “wait til later”.
Even if you already have a website, contact us today to sort out the mobile version for you!
Steph Zahalka is the founder and CEO of Jungle Branding Co., a premier award-winning brand agency based on the Gold Coast Australia, serving clients across the globe.
Recent winner of the prestigious Female Entrepreneur of the Year Stevie Award 2020, Steph is a brand strategist and designer who has been featured on the cover of a nationally recognised ‘women in business’ magazine (GCGIB) and regularly appears on podcasts and events around the Gold Coast as a speaker, panel expert and interviewee where she reveals her unique process for building a wildly in-demand brand for ambitious entrepreneurs, modern CEOs, influencers, thought leaders, and service-based business owners.
Steph believes that, when done right, branding is the door to connecting with your people, your audience on a deeper level. Human to human connection that makes your audience ridiculously obsessed with not just your brand, but YOU and your vision that ultimately makes a positive impact on the world.
