Why Do We Go “Desktop First”
In this day and age, there is still a tendency for businesses to assume that designing and developing websites should cater to “desktop-first” practices. Why?
The world wide web was born and grew on desktop devices, therefore it’s hard for creators to depart from decades of legacy, experience, and thinking. From a designer standpoint, the more screen real estate and spatial awareness makes design work psychologically more rewarding (and more forgiving too!). From the developer standpoint, accommodating to mobile-specific requirements and catering to mobile-specific features like local storage and service workers adds complexity and requires new skills. This makes things more difficult requiring more time and effort.
But the customer bias is the most important – because it is easier to stir emotions and create awe-inspiring interfaces for the desktop, businesses are quick to default their websites to this architecture. (Despite appearing rational at the surface, most purchase decisions are based on emotion. Sellers know this and use it to their advantage). However, the reality of the situation is that more and more internet users rely heavily on mobile web access.
Why go “Mobile First”
There are nearly 5 billion mobile phone users worldwide in 2020. And mobile device web usage has doubled in the last 5 years, already surpassing the share of other devices in 2018. On some websites, the share can be as high as 85%.
The fact is that the millennials are a “mobile-only” generation, and the subsequent generations will follow suit. In light of the numbers, designing and developing websites with a “mobile-first” strategy is more than justified. I submit that’s actually a skewed perspective. “Desktop-last” is the forward thinker’s point-of-view.
Know your numbers
To begin, knowing your business’ particulars is suggested: rate of page visits, members, desktop vs. mobile users, etc. Plan to research and understand the expectations and behavior of your website’s target audience. Keep a close eye on the mobile adoption rate and its changes in your websites. Remember that demand for mobile web UX is not just organic. An improved offering also creates demand. Be mindful of making assumptions based on history alone. The world of the internet has and continues to change rapidly. Basing your web strategy on statistics alone may be hazardous and lead to stagnation.
Manage the stakeholder biases
There may be some resistance to the push towards the smaller screen. Avoid being blinded by “screen space emotion” and encourage your project team to do the same in order to enjoy the process. Exercise and demand objectivity based on facts, not comfort levels deriving from history or past experience; this is new territory after all. Finding a software design & development partner who supports and elevates your mobile vision can ease the transition as well.
Exercise purposeful desktop discrimination
At some point, your business should begin to favor the mobile experience. Not only on a personal level, but the web pages should also opt for mobile settings when preparing the KPI’s of your website. One of the best practices is to use the mobile phone as your primary testing and evaluation platform, that way you’ll truly understand the user interface. Budget extra for the effort of creating truly exceptional mobile experiences, just as beautiful if not better than the desktop view.
Embrace the mobile difference
It’s time for a change! Don’t settle into reproducing the desktop features on mobile, use this transition as a platform for a fresh start. It’s important to build your website to be a Progressive Web Application allowing added innovative mobile-specific features on top of conventional web features. Explore the vast range of possibilities that the modern mobile web has to offer – location awareness, phone sensor data, offline storage capabilities, background processing and more.
In conclusion: change your point-of-view from “mobile-first” to “desktop-last,” it’ll progress your website into this century. Begin as soon as possible to shy away from the “desktop bias” – opting for “desktop-last” as many iPhone and
android app company have already chosen to do. Make website design & development decisions based on a vision of a mobile future, it can still be eye-catching on the small screen. Set your goals and metrics to support the shift to a mobile world wide web and you’ll be ready to launch a successful site.
