Supportsoft Glossary

Designing Experiences Prioritizing Mobile

The mobile-first approach entails designing a website starting from the smallest device and working up to the largest device. Once the smallest screen is built to support the user, you will then add elements to create a tablet version of your site and finally a desktop version. By designing your site for the mobile user first, it forces web designers to focus on the most important aspects of their sites—i.e., making the content clear, having only the essential content on the site, providing simple navigation, and knowing the limits of what devices can do.

When using a mobile-first design approach, the result is often a clean and easy-to-navigate site with quick loading times and a well-thought-out layout. Once the mobile site is built out, then the tablet version and the desktop version can come together naturally; therefore, you will have a consistent user experience on all devices.

The mobile-first design approach is a change in how we think about user behaviour. Mobile-first will enhance the ability for you to reach your customers, as they will be forced to look for information from your business using their mobile device. If you build your business's digital properties with the mindset that your mobile users are goal-oriented and may not have time for "friction", your customers will thank you for it by coming back to purchase again.