With the advent of smartphones, an entirely new world has emerged that can be termed as technology-eccentric. This shift to the mobile platform has, in turn, has made lives easier. Be it online bill payments, shopping, on-demand delivery, or even undergoing bank transactions; the mobile phone is a prized possession.
Here is a report on the number of smartphone users worldwide from 2014 to 2020.
Also, according to a study, people spent about 90 percent of their time using mobile apps in 2018. The numbers are increasing in 2019 and over the years to come.
The above stats prove to be good news to businesses that wish to make it big in the market.
How can that happen exactly? Businesses can turn the ball in their court by leveraging the mobile-first technology, i.e., by shifting the business to the mobile platform before anything else.
So, What is Mobile-First Technology?
Mobile-first means giving priority to building a mobile-friendly website for your business before a desktop-friendly interface. Since the term ”mobile-first” has been coined by Luke Wroblewski in 2009, the concept is gaining more and more recognition and much-needed attention.
Earlier, the large resolution accommodating websites were built and then the developers moved their way to the mobile-friendly web pages, i.e., a descending order. But, the mobile-first strategy reverses the workflow.
It is an ascending order design strategy where the developers build a mobile-friendly interface before moving their way up to the larger-screen accommodating interfaces.
This change is completely justified by how users are spending most of their time on smartphones over desktops or laptops.
Here’s an illustration that would clear the concept in your head.
You must have got a fair idea about what mobile-first strategy is all about. And, this live example of a shoe-retailer business, Schuh can help you get a better picture.
Getting through the basics about a concept and knowing its importance is one thing, implementing it is another. The same goes for the mobile-first strategy.
So, here is an overview of essential elements that go into building a mobile-first strategy that would turn your business into a celebrated success.
How to Have a Mobile-First Strategy in Motion for Your Business
1. Know your Customers
The first and foremost necessity is to know who your target audience is. Do they use mobile devices? Is your audience digitally-driven? Is most of your business coming from the mobile medium? What mobile device does your audience use? Is it a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, or a desktop?
Once you have answers to all these basic questions, you would have an outline to build your strategy on.
With this step done right, your approach would stand the test of time.
2. Change from Within
Introducing a mobile-first strategy would give a jolt to your existing system in place. Yes, the change would be challenging, but it would surely be worth it! If your business has a flexible environment that readily adapts to changes, you are good to go.
Focus on implementing an “enterprise mobility strategy,” across the organization before developing a mobile-first experience.
This awareness and informative sprees would further lead to an unbeatable mobile-first strategy.
3. Create an Adaptive Website
When you create a website, it is essential to make sure that it follows the “multi-platform” rule. The website should load equally well on a desktop site as on the mobile website.
Your sole purpose should be to build a website design that fits perfectly on any device without compromising on the resolution and the content.
After all, a trimmed and blurry website can ruin the entire fun of browsing.
4. Embracing Responsiveness
If the website users have to pinch-and-expand the mobile website to read something, you are totally in the need for a mobile-first strategy.
In short, the experience of visiting a mobile site should be a delight for the eyes. And, this can be achieved by implementing an RWD (Responsive Web Design).
This strategy ensures that the viewing experience of the website is optimal across all channels.
5. Adopt Agile Methodologies
Building a mobile-first model can be made easy with the help of agile software development methodologies. The “one thing at a time” approach followed by agile proves to be the right path for building a great user experience.
Firstly, go about launching an MVP (Minimum viable product) that would help understand the need for a particular interface. Also, your development time and resources would not go into waste.
As agile also focuses on testing and validation of the end product, your mobile-first design is less likely to fail.
Implement Mobile-First Strategy for Competitive Advantage
Mobile-first is a strategy that drives a business towards success by making the websites adaptable and responsive. It is all about the end-users in the end, and their comfort of surfing a website on a mobile device is what needs to be given priority.
If you haven’t thought of it already, it is high time to implement the strategy to stay one step ahead in the competition. All you need is to track the above-mentioned elements of a mobile-first strategy and get started.
Digital transformation requires efforts, make sure your business tops the list for customer satisfaction.
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