Mobile First: A Paradigm Shift
Many companies caught on to the mobile-first trend awhile back. Google surfaced their mobile-first strategy in 2010. As you’ve probably guessed from the name of this approach to site design, mobile first means designing an online experience for mobile before designing it for the desktop Web—or any other device. In the past, when users’ focus was on the desktop Web, mobile design was an afterthought. But today, more people are using their mobile devices for online shopping and social networking than ever before, and most companies are designing for mobile. Mobile first requires a new approach to planning, UX design, and development that puts handheld devices at the forefront of both strategy and implementation. The digital landscape has changed, and companies have realized that consumers are now accessing more content on their mobile devices than anywhere else.
Mobile first shifts the paradigm of a Web-site user experience. Instead of users’ viewing desktop versions of Web sites on their mobile device with some adjustments, users are now viewing sites that have been created specifically for their mobile device. This begs the question: how will stationary, desktop computer users view these Web sites? They’ll still view versions of Web sites that were developed for the desktop Web—but designed with mobile in mind. This means designers should tailor site user experiences to the needs of users who are on the go and in multiple contexts. Text must be easier to read and navigate. Photos and maps should be easily accessible, and all content should adjust to display properly on the device on which a user is viewing it.
Digital Strategy
Defining a digital strategy is an essential part of developing a successful product or brand. A desktop-Web user experience strategy differs from a mobile user experience strategy. A traditional desktop-Web user experience is designed for keyboard and mouse interactions, and a strategy for such a user experience should take into consideration the context, the behavior, the audience, the targeted behavior, and the technology channel. The typical assumption is that users are stationary and viewing a browser on a large screen. It’s essential to design desktop-Web user experiences for all users who might access a site—from children to the elderly. On a stationary desktop computer, users can read and understand in-depth content and can type lengthy responses. For games on the Web, users manipulate controls using the keyboard or the mouse.
A strategy for a mobile user experience considers all of the same factors: the behavior, the audience, the targeted behavior, and the technology channel, but the relative importance of these factors shifts depending on the user’s context. Mobile design employs less screen real estate, but introduces greater breadth to a user experience, according with the context of the overall experience. The needs of users change because their context continually changes. Users have a harder time reading in-depth content on a small screen. Without a keyboard, their ability to type is hindered. Mobile devices introduce new modes of interaction such as touch and gestures. It’s possible to play games in a number of different ways, by activating touch targets across an entire screen.
Let’s consider an insurance company’s site as an example, highlighting the differences between a desktop-Web user experience strategy and a mobile user experience strategy. An insurance company wants to build an online experience. The home page of a desktop-Web experience might provide the means for users to call an agent and get a quote as its primary call to action. However, if the insurance company wanted to build a mobile experience, the focus might instead be on users’ context. Users might use the insurance company’s site on the go—to make a claim or get roadside assistance. Therefore, for a site that is optimized for mobile, it would be necessary to reorganize the desktop-Web content.
