Are you thinking “mobile first”? Here's the pitfall you need to avoid
It's a well-known truth that small screens dominate our consumption patterns — and the trend continues in the same direction. But have we really adjusted enough since the advent of thumb scrolling? No, says our designer and developer Eileen Osmo.
“We hang too much in old thought patterns”
We're not going back many years before websites were primarily digital bulletin boards. It was the place where you placed everything you wanted to say. After the advent of smartphones, customization was just a matter of compression.
Of course, that is no longer the case, and mobile-first is so established that it's starting to get old new. Even so, too much of us are left in old patterns of thinking,” Eileen says.
Haunted by the past
Mobile first is really a fairly simple mindset: It's simply about putting aside the idea that a web page “also has to look good on mobile,” and rather thinking small screen until we're thinking big screen. Both Google and its users appreciate it.
“This has started to settle down, and it has become quite natural to prioritize the mobile experience already at the sketch stage. Of course, we will be happy when the customer is aware that it should be minimalistic, with lots of whitespace and stripped-down sides. It's music to our ears,” Eileen says.
The problem comes when the website eventually has to be filled with content. Then we will gladly fall back into old sins, says the designer.
There's so much we should have said, and for many it's hard to prioritize. Often, an otherwise user-friendly design is cluttered with too much text. It undermines the whole point of mobile first,” she explains.
Avoid losing conversions
If you say too much, you end up saying nothing, points out Eileen, who advises everyone to think carefully about what their enterprise actually offers. If you manage to distill your message, everyone wins.
That's one of the reasons why Mobile First is so brilliant. It forces you to make good pitchers. You have no choice but to present your message briefly and concisely, and that is appreciated by the end users.
She recalls that the very best websites set expectations, and that the rising generation in particular has high demands - and low patience.
It takes a little while before someone drops a purchase or doesn't make contact. In addition, it is important to keep in mind that many people use their mobile on the go, in line, on the bus or in the bathroom. If people have to get up to pick up the laptop, you simply risk losing valuable conversions,” she says.
Get help prioritizing
But of course it takes a little courage to wield a razor. Sometimes every sentence feels priceless. Dialogue is important.
“As advisors, it is important that we have transparency with the client and ensure that they are fully involved in the mobile-first mindset. For example, many people get cold feet when they see that the sketches contain whitespace on mobile, because then the user has to scroll. But we know that people tolerate scrolling far better than content that feels irrelevant.
Eileen says that a content workshop can be an effective solution. Here, the customer is helped to prioritize — and this is based on insight more than just gut feeling.
“Often what you want to tell is different than what the reader gets the most value from reading. In a workshop, she figures this out together, and the result is a web solution that people actually enjoy using,” she says and concludes:
After all, it's all about Peoplis the first.
Are you curious about how a project with mobile-firstthinking takes place in practice? Please take a look at how we worked together with Ammehjelpen to create a solution aimed at busy toddler parents with their hands full.
