The Age of Mobile and a Shift to Mobile First Design
Welcome to the age of mobile. If you had any doubts look at these stats:
- Mobile internet adoption has outpaced desktop internet adoption by eight times (source)
- Smartphone sales have surpassed worldwide PC sales (source)
- Native mobile app use is now equal to mobile browser use, which is just one app (source)
You can’t ignore the age of mobile if you have a new digital project in mind and should consider making strategic shift to Mobile First design. Designing the user experience (UX) for a mobile device is not as simple as porting an existing application to fit on a smaller screen. The UX should be optimized for mobile devices, their varying screen sizes and interaction behaviors in combination with the elimination of all but the most useful, usable and desirable features of an app.
It can be argued that a Mobile First design approach that focuses on the elimination of all but the most useful, usable and desirable features can make the user experience of other channels, such as the desktop, better. Luke Wroblewski, author of the book Mobile First, has used the following example to illustrate this point:
When comparing the Southwest Airlines desktop website and the iPhone app it becomes clear that visitors to the desktop website will have to filter out a great deal more information in order to find and complete a common task like checking a flight status.
Now, compare a redesigned desktop version of the Southwest website to the iPhone app. Both designs have eliminated everything but what matters most to the consumer and business creating an arguably more useful and usable user experience for visitors.
A shift to a Mobile First design approach is something worth considering as you develop projects in the age of mobile.
