The importance of being mobile and active over the holidays. More people are using their mobile over the holiday period to search and access information and you need to make sure that you are there right in front of them.
Google expects most websites to be designed for mobile first in 2018; it’s smarter for your online business, smarter for your holiday customers, and smarter for your bottom line!
Ahhhh holidays. It’s time to kick back, relax, soak up the sun and get ready for a couple of weeks with no stress. Who wants to think about work during the holidays? Not you! You do, however, want to check out some local food delivery options – this little bach you’re in might have a full kitchen, but there’s no way you’re keen on cooking while on holiday! No worries, grab your phone and check out the options. Oh – only one food delivery service nearby? Oh well, that’ll have to do then…
The reality is, there are more takeaway and delivery options (in fact, there were 3 nearby) but the other food shops weren’t optimised correctly, and weren’t presented in a mobile first design context. What does this mean exactly? Let’s break it down.
Mobile-first web design: what does it really mean to have a ‘mobile first’ design?
As 99% of our readers will already know, mobile first is a term which describes the designing of a website for a mobile device FIRST, rather than a desktop screen. The difference with designing for a mobile device is – obviously – the size of the visible screen. This screen real estate is getting so small, that many designers are being forced to look at website design in a whole new way. And it’s not just the screen size that changes the browsing experience, but the way we navigate too – no mouse or pointer, but rather a finger-touch responsiveness. Mobile first design is all about simplifying the content into chunks that are easy to digest while on the go, and making relevant content easy to find.
When people use their cellphones or mobile devices to find information on the internet, they want the answers to be within one or two touches away. So, your mobile first web design needs to be clear, it needs to be fast, and it needs to have a very easily recognisable menu structure.
Having a mobile first website for the holiday season
Why are we talking about this concept now, of all times? Because it’s time to take a break. Many of your clients are stepping away from their day-to-day jobs, they’re heading off to the beach or they’re going to visit relatives in different cities. What browser will they have on hand, 24/7? Their phones, of course! If your website isn’t a joy to behold on a mobile screen, then it’s time to rethink your design. Most web developers now have a good handle on how to make mobile first websites – and yes, mobile first IS different from mobile responsive! Mobile responsive is a website design that is initially worked out for a desktop display, but is developed to respond well with mobile screens. They’re great – but they’re not the future. In fact, they’re not even the present. Right now, what we need to be seeing is a more mobile first approach – where a design is created for a mobile screen FIRST, and which then can be easily adapted for viewing on a desktop screen too. It’s a reversal of design ethos, and is taking many designers a fair amount of time to understand. It’s the way of the future however, and it won’t be long before Google starts including mobile first design as a weighting value in it’s algorithms (if it hasn’t already).
Looking for a mobile first design that will keep your holiday clients happy? Chat to our expert team at Live Wire Media – we stay ahead of the curve!
