Usually designers follow the desktop first approach while building the design for a website. The clients ask for this strategy too. They consider the mobile part of the design as a secondary task which gets fulfilled later. Even in the responsive design, designers prefer to start with “full size” and then make their way down. But is it a good approach? Can mobile first be a better a strategy? Let’s find out.
The trend of mobile first design is growing steadily in the IT industry. This approach begins with working on the mobile version first and then working up to the desktop version. One thing that should be kept in mind is that the mobile website designing is not a niche anymore. It is the present, not the future.
Over 1.2 billion people use their smartphones to access the internet. In U.S. 25% of the mobile web users are mobile-only, which means that they rarely use desktops to access the internet. This percentage forces the designers to adopt the mobile first design strategy. This strategy allows considering the mobile web design as the primary task. The designers put their best thoughts forward on the mobile platform. The mobile version isn’t considered as a “after-polished” version. All of the starting energy is put to create a unique product. The designers won’t have to think about what to cut from the desktop design.
But the primary disadvantage of this approach is that the designer’s mind is focused on building a minimal version. Ultimately, he or she misses plenty of good ideas. And when they start the desktop version, the missed ideas start approaching in their minds.
The desktop first approach is very simple. Firstly, you take advantage of all the technologies readily available for desktop website version and build a design that works on all the browsers. After that you gradually minimize the content because the mobile systems are smaller and simpler than desktops. Its advantage is that you create the design with all the possibilities available and get a bigger picture of the product.
There are not so many disadvantages of this strategy, but because of the number of mobile-only web users is increasing, the focus should be on the mobile version. But most of the designers are not adapting this strategy.
The mobile first strategy is better than the desktop first. But the ideal method to adapt this strategy is to build a desktop version prototype first and then go ahead with the mobile design. The benefit of this approach is that you will get a clear understanding of all the possibilities available. Another point that should be kept in mind is the responsive design. Responsive design doesn’t mean that it will work for both versions. You have to build the initial design and then add media queries to it, so that it will be fit for the mobile version. Therefore, if you want to adapt the mobile first approach in responsive design, then make the initial CSS with mobile perspective. After that, add media queries to make it fit for desktops.