My personal journey with mobile-first design, along with practical tips and tricks to help designers implement mobile-first strategies and improve user experiences across all devices.
As someone who designs websites professionally, keeping pace with technology and online user expectations is literally the job. If there has been one significant shift in this area in recent years, it has been the move from mobile-friendly to mobile-first design. As a web designer, this transition has been a game-changer for me, influencing how I approach my projects and ultimately improving user experience for clients and their audiences. It has, however, been quite the learning curve as I’m sure other web designers would agree.
In this post, I’ll take you through the differences between mobile-friendly and mobile-first design, explore why the mobile-first approach is on the rise, discuss its pros and cons, and share my personal experience in making the shift. Whether you’re a fellow designer or someone interested in improving their website’s performance, this journey can provide valuable insights.
From the early days of desktop-only websites to the rise of mobile, screen sizes have been getting smaller and smaller. In the beginning, websites were primarily designed for desktops. When mobile devices started gaining popularity, the idea of “mobile-friendly design” reared its head.
Mobile-friendly design involves adapting desktop designs to ensure they work on mobile devices. This approach often starts with a desktop layout that is then scaled down or tweaked to fit smaller screens. The idea is to make sure that elements like text, images, and buttons are legible and functional on a mobile device. However, this process is reactive, meaning mobile optimization is often an afterthought, rather than a starting point.
For a long time, mobile-friendly design was sufficient. It allowed users to access websites on their phones, albeit with some limitations. However, as mobile internet usage has soared, this approach has shown its weaknesses. Websites built for desktop-first may work on mobile, but they often provide a less-than-ideal user experience. Text can be too small, buttons may be hard to click, and the overall interface can feel cluttered.
In contrast, mobile-first design takes a fundamentally different approach. It prioritizes the mobile user experience from the very beginning. The design process starts with small screens, focusing on essential content and functionality. Once the mobile version is perfected, the design can be scaled up for larger screens, such as tablets and desktops. Mobile-first design forces designers to think critically about content hierarchy and user interactions. Since screen real estate is limited on mobile devices, only the most important elements are included. This approach often leads to cleaner, faster-loading sites with improved user engagement because the design is streamlined from the start.
Mobile-friendly design is a reactive approach whereas mobile-first design is a proactive approach.
Mobile internet users now constitute nearly 60% of global web traffic, the largest portion of users. It only makes sense that websites be tailored to offer this group the optimal experience. You can be sure that if your website isn’t optimized for mobile, your mobile visitor will quickly move on to a competitor’s site.
Another major factor driving the mobile-first approach is Google’s mobile-first indexing. Google now uses the mobile version of a website as its primary reference when determining search rankings. In other words, if your website doesn’t perform well on mobile, it’s going to suffer in search engine results, which can negatively impact visibility, traffic, and ultimately conversions.
Mobile-first design is not just about the aesthetics; it’s also about performance. Mobile users are often on slower connections (e.g., 4G or 3G), so your site needs to load quickly. Fast-loading sites are critical for retaining users. Research shows that users are more likely to abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load! A website designed with mobile-first principles is often lightweight and optimized to load quickly on slower networks, ensuring a smoother user experience and a lower bounce rate.
User expectations have evolved alongside technology. Mobile users now demand fast, easy-to-navigate websites that provide relevant content immediately. Mobile-first design caters to this need by delivering streamlined experiences, whether a user is quickly checking product information or browsing social media on the go.
Mobile-first forces designers to focus on essential content. With limited screen space, only the most critical elements are included, arranged in a highly efficient hierarchy. This approach results in a clean, minimalist design where content takes center stage, ensuring users quickly access what matters most.
Mobile traffic is the present and the future. By designing with mobile in mind from the start, you ensure your website remains relevant and effective for years to come.
Layout is a major part of design and is a great way to make a design more engaging and unique. However, when designing for mobile, the limited screen space (an average mobile screen is just 320px wide compared to 1550px for desktops!), it is honestly hard to come up with creative layouts. While complex, visually appealing grid structures can be designed for larger screens, mobile versions almost always default to a single-column layout. Look at the two versions of the design below. You can’t deny that it looks much more interesting and appealing on the desktop!
The difference between desktop and mobile designs is clear—desktop layouts simply offer more room for creativity. This can leave designers feeling that, despite their best efforts to make a design stand out, mobile versions often end up looking quite similar across the board.
I think we can all agree that change is hard, regardless of context. For designers like me used to desktop-first design, switching to mobile-first can be tough. It requires a shift in thinking and the adoption of new tools and techniques. Once mastered, however, it can open up new possibilities for creating better user experiences.
When I first started designing websites, I always took a desktop-first approach. I’d create a beautiful layout for large screens, then figure out how to make it work on mobile. I quickly realized that this approach led to clunky mobile experiences that seemed poorly thought-out and didn’t meet user expectations. Sometimes, the text readability was poor. Other times the navigation was awkward. Overall usability always suffered.
As I worked with more clients and saw how much traffic was coming from mobile, I knew I had to make a change. User feedback and analytics clearly showed that mobile users weren’t having the best experience, which prompted me to explore mobile-first design.
The transition wasn’t easy. I had to rethink my entire design process, focusing on content hierarchy and user flows for smaller screens. My first attempt at mobile-first design in Figma resulted in a decent-looking mobile layout, but adapting it for desktop afterward turned out to be a surprisingly disorienting challenge!
I'm proud of how far I've come on my mobile-first design journey. Here are 7 of the most valuable, actionable lessons I've learned along the way.
Start by identifying the most important content that needs to be seen first. Since mobile designs usually end up being vertically stacked, content prioritization is key. Ask yourself, “What does the user absolutely need to see first?”
When designing a restaurant’s website for mobile, for example, potential customers are likely looking for essential information like the menu, hours of operation, and contact details. Therefore, these should be the focal points of the mobile layout. A typical design element, such as a large hero image of the restaurant’s interior or a complex animation of the logo, might look visually appealing, but it’s secondary to the content users are seeking. Instead, you may want to focus on making the menu easily accessible, with clear links to online ordering or making reservations. Once the essential content is laid out and functional, you can introduce subtle design enhancements (like a small image or a clean, minimal animation) that don’t overshadow the information users came for. This approach ensures that users get the key details quickly, without being distracted or delayed by non-essential design features.
I’ve learnt that hover animations are a client favorite! Probably because they add an interactive, and polished touch to desktop designs. I admit I myself am a fan of hover animations (they’re just so cool!). However, while these effects work beautifully on desktop, they don’t translate to mobile devices, where there’s no concept of "hover." So, no matter how amazing your hover animation is, only 40% of users at best will be able to experience it (Remember: nearly 60% of global web traffic is mobile-driven).
Instead of using hover effects, you can opt for equally engaging but more mobile-friendly alternatives. Tap or click-based animations or scroll-triggered animations (where elements animate as they come into view or are tied to the user’s scroll position on the page) are excellent options to create designs that are equally captivating without excluding mobile users.
Since users can’t rely on hover effects to identify interactive elements on mobile, you’ll need to use other cues like color contrast, size, and placement to make CTAs stand out. For instance, making a "Buy Now" button larger and more vibrant than surrounding elements immediately draws attention. You could also use animations like a subtle pulse effect when a button comes into view. Additionally, placing CTAs above the fold ensures that users don’t have to scroll to find them, making conversions more likely.
We know that mobile users often rely on slower networks, and Google uses the mobile version of a website as its primary reference for ranking, with website speed being a crucial factor. To ensure your site performs well, use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to test its speed on both mobile and desktop. Ideally, aim for a mobile speed score of 90 or higher, with anything above 80 being a solid target.
Optimizing website speed is a broad topic, and I’ve covered it in detail in this guide (insert link to post). However, some of the simplest improvements you can make include properly sizing and compressing images using modern formats like WebP, which reduces file size without compromising quality. Additionally, opting for system-based fonts over web fonts can significantly improve load times. Implement lazy loading for images and videos so they only load when necessary, and minimize large JavaScript files and unnecessary tracking scripts to further enhance performance. While background videos in hero sections may look visually impressive, they’re notorious for slowing down your site, making them something to reconsider for mobile optimization.
Designing with fluid units, such as percentages or viewport height and width (vh/vw), instead of fixed pixel values, allows your design to adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes. For example, instead of defining a container width as 300px, you can set it to 80% of the screen width, which will automatically adjust to different devices. This flexibility is crucial for mobile-first design because it ensures that your layout looks good on a variety of screen sizes, from small phones to large tablets.
Swipe gestures have become second nature to mobile users, thanks to popular apps like Instagram, Netflix, and Tinder. You can tap into this familiarity in your mobile-first designs by incorporating swipe actions for product carousels, image galleries, case studies, and more.
Carousels and sliders are powerful tools for making the most of limited horizontal space. Vertically stacked content on mobile can result in long, tedious scrolls. Instead of making users scroll endlessly through sections, horizontal swipe gestures enable them to navigate content more efficiently.
For example, instead of using a grid layout that forces users to scroll through a long list of products or testimonials, a horizontal swipe feature allows them to explore at their own pace by simply swiping left or right. This keeps the design clean and minimal while giving users control over what they want to view—making it an incredibly effective design tool.
Tip: I recommend reserving swipe gestures for optional content, such as image galleries or testimonials, rather than critical content like service cards, which you want every user to see.
Tip: Always include strong visual cues to carousels and sliders to make sure users know there is more content available, such as arrows, dots or partially visible slides. You don’t want visitors scrolling past without knowing they have the option to swipe and see more!
A form that stretches across or beyond the width of a mobile screen is a major red flag. While it’s tempting to gather as much information as possible from your leads upfront, you need to be careful not to overwhelm potential clients with a cumbersome process. The last thing you want is for someone to think, “This looks like too much work. I’ll come back to it later”—because, more often than not, they won’t. And then you’re left staring at your analytics, wondering why users start filling out the form but never actually hit the submit button.
Enabling auto-fill alongside this can further minimize effort on the user’s part. For example, instead of asking for a detailed address, you can request a zip code and use auto-fill to complete the remaining fields. Enabling auto-fill functionality saves users time and effort, making them more likely to complete the form.
Adopting a mobile-first approach has significantly improved the quality of my projects. My clients have noticed higher engagement rates, better SEO performance, and increased user satisfaction. More importantly, I’ve grown as a designer, learning to create websites that provide a seamless experience on any device.
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