The Mobile First Revolution

The Mobile Smartphone has come to stay and has established a prominent part of our lives. Hence we can see a lot of Web Developers and designers keeping the mobile on the priority so that their content is visible on the standard and highly accessible smartphones.

The trend today is to design content, layout, and navigation so that it works perfectly on a mobile device before designing for the wider screen of a desktop. In a way, this is beneficial because there are much fewer displays of mobile devices compared to a much larger desktop screen. While the bigger desktop screens might need more appealing and graphics-rich visuals, mobile screens afford the liberty to concentrate on the content. Therefore a site with good content but less on visuals could be responsive on a smartphone screen. This does not mean that you can trivialize the visual aspects of the site.

The best methodology is to consider the requirements of the user based upon the gadget in use. Today the main ingredients of a successful site are balanced content, visual designs with an emphasis on mobile and responsive user experience.

Should the mobile first approach:

Now the most important question –Should the mobile first approach be applied every time?

The answer again depends upon the type of website and its end users. Content reigns supreme on the mobile above visual designs and graphics. However, this does not mean that content is only text and words and blah blah. It also includes pictures graphics and other features which best explains the content to the user. In a nutshell, it means making the site responsive to the user. 

It is expected that by the end of 2017, mobile traffic will surpass the desktop traffic when it comes to accessing websites. The web designers must ensure that the site they are designing is easily accessible to the mobile user. They should ensure that the mobile user can easily navigate through the designed sites and retrieve information. The devices in question could also include besides mobiles, even a tablet.

The technology realm always remains in a state of dynamic flux, ever changing and ever adapting to the evolving technologies. What is relevant today can become history soon. However content and creative design will always remain the heart and soul of every web design.