In December 2013, we published our very first blog post regarding mobile optimization and why it was important for your business website.
You remember 2013, right? Everyone was playing Flappy Bird on their iPhone 5s. The Jonas Brothers broke up. Sharknado was on Syfy. And 46% of the general public exclusively used mobile as a primary research tool.
Now think about this: Global mobile data increased about 573% from 2017 to 2022. So if mobile optimization was important 10 years ago, just think about how important it must be today!
The world has moved forward, and business marketers have moved forward with it. A “mobile-first” approach is now the gold standard for many websites.
Mobile-first marketing is exactly what it sounds like: Designing a website and marketing efforts with smaller screens in mind, then adapting those materials to larger screens like desktops.
But is mobile-first marketing right for every business? Let’s look at the pros and cons.
Pros of Mobile-First Marketing
Mobile Users Are the Majority
You can’t please all the people all the time. But you should certainly strive to please a lot of people a lot of the time. And a lot of your audience (roughly 60%) views your content on a mobile screen.
Mobile-first website design ensures that your customers don’t have to deal with the bugs and glitches that happen when you try to scale down the complex code used in a site optimized for desktop viewing.
Quicker Load Time
The longer your website takes to load, the more customers you’re going to lose. In fact, half of your customers expect your site to load in three seconds or less. And the more “stuff” you have clogging up your site, the longer those load times will be.
With mobile-first marketing, you don’t have the space to add tons of extras even if you wanted to. The result: Your site loads quicker, which makes your audience happier.
A Sleeker Site
As a business owner, you’re naturally inclined to add everything ever to your website. But sometimes, less is more.
Again, mobile-first sites are simpler. There’s not a lot of space. As a website designer, that actually works in your favor, because you’re forced to decide what is necessary and what can (and perhaps should) be left out. That produces a sleeker, cleaner, more user-friendly site where your audience can find exactly what they’re looking for.
Cons of Mobile-First Marketing
It’s Hard to Do
For all the benefits of a mobile-first approach, it has been described by website developers as “neither fun nor easy.” That’s … not exactly a glowing recommendation. You have less space, fewer fancy-shmancy tools to play with, and fewer resources.
If you’re not intimately familiar with the process, you could make a mess of things. So it might be better to bite the bullet and hire a professional.
You’re Killing Creativity
You probably have grand ideas for your website. Unfortunately, you might not be able to implement them all because, once again — there’s just not space to play around with.
This can be a deal-breaker for business owners who aren’t willing to color inside the clearly defined lines that come with a mobile-first approach.
Is It Time to Go Mobile-First?
In the past, websites were created for desktops and then scaled down for mobile devices, losing plenty of style and functionality along the way. A mobile-first approach flips the script, starting small and adding in elements as it scales up. It’s definitely the more difficult road to take. But with the world becoming more mobile every day, it’s something every business owner should consider.
Are you having website woes? Mischa Communications can make your site look superb on any screen. Let’s exchange information.