Mobile is king. It is steadily increasing in market share around the world, with desktop slowly dropping as more people have access to smartphones and more brands are responding to the change in technology. This doesn’t mean that your desktop website should suffer, only that the old approach of using responsive design is outdated.
Your website needs to be individually optimized for both desktop and mobile. Some pages, like blog posts, can be responsive, but big pages, including your online store, must be individually designed to take advantage of each medium.
You wouldn’t cross-post content from one social media platform to the other, and today you can easily have multiple designs that are only available to your users depending on the version of your website that they are accessing.
The Increase in Mobile Market Share
Currently, 55.31% of the global market share is geared towards mobile, with 41.97% desktop and 2.72% on tablet. These numbers generally stay steady across Europe, North America, and Oceans, but mobile dominates in Asia and in Africa. The increase in mobile market share and the connectivity and convenience of using a phone to search and connect with brands wherever your customers are makes it obvious that investing in mobile design is imperative for your future.
Designing a Mobile-First Website
It can seem daunting, but designing a mobile-first or mobile version of your website is fairly straightforward and something that any great web design agency can do for you. If the mobile version of your website has been lacking for a long time, consider investing in an overhaul that puts your mobile site on equal footing with your desktop site.
A web design company like ALT Agency can help you design your desktop website, your mobile website, responsive design elements, and even specific apps, all for your brand. By keeping all the different aspects of your design in one place, you can ensure a seamless, robust experience across all platforms.
Why Is Mobile Design More Important than Responsive Design?
Mobile is a huge part of the market. It is where your customers are. Even in markets with both mobile and desktop on equal footing, it is important to remember that everyone who has a desktop or laptop computer also has a mobile phone that they are definitely using to browse the internet and connect with brands online.
Mobile design is a different approach than just responsive design. A responsive design automatically reconfigures the desktop design to be easier to see and read on a phone. It does not actually mean it has been optimized for the phone. A specific mobile design will improve the experience of your users, make it easier to engage with your website on a smaller screen, and is how you can offer a heightened experience regardless of where and how a customer chooses to engage with your brand. Responsive design is a half-hearted attempt at most, and your business deserves a sharp, engaging experience on all customer-facing fronts.