Hacks for Building a Mobile-First Responsive Website

As it is often the first thing that potential customers interact with once they look you up, it's essential that it is of the highest quality.

Seeing as how more than 60% of web searches are performed on mobile devices, you need to focus on this aspect of website design. With that in mind, you want a mobile-first responsive website so here are a few hacks that will help you build one.

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What is mobile-first website design?

If you don't know what a mobile-first website design is, it's exactly what its name says – it means that you will build your website with the focus on it being primarily optimized for mobile devices. Even though this approach is more difficult, then optimizing it for PCs primarily, it is also the better one seeing as how you don't have to get rid of various items that you might already have on the desktop version of your website. You will only have the essential features and you can add various items as you size up. That way, user experience (UX) is always at the heart of your design.

How can you create a mobile-first website?

In case you don't want to hire a professional to design your website, there is also the option of doing it yourself. As you're probably not an expert, try to make the most of the following tips in order to create a mobile-first responsive website.

Look for useful apps, platforms, and add-ons

For starters, looking for useful apps and platforms that will make creating a website easy is always recommended. For instance, if you run a catering business, you can make a website using WordPress. It comes with countless plugins that will make your job even easier, such as OptinMonster and RafflePress.

On the other hand, if you're thinking about starting an online casino or an online sportsbook, you can turn to GiG's sports platform, which has all it takes to provide your users with a seamless betting experience, with a mobile centered approach in focus.

All in all, it's essential to consider what your business needs and what kind of content is necessary before you decide on the platforms and add-ons.

Get the size right

As mobile devices are much smaller than laptop or desktop screens, you need to pay special attention to the size of the letters and buttons you use. You don't want visitors to have to squint or awkwardly zoom in and scroll around to be able to read what you have to say. Having a responsive website means that the size of the text should automatically fit on the device that the visitor is using to check you out.

Moreover, you also want the CTA buttons to be easy to spot and click. Once again, having to zoom in to log in or confirm a purchase can turn off visitors in no time. With that in mind, you want to give all hyperlinks and call-to-action buttons some space.

Keep the thumb rule in mind

It's also important to think about where each element of your website will be placed. As 75% of mobile device users use their thumbs to operate it, following the thumb rule is a good practice.

Certain areas of the screen are easier to reach than others that we have to stretch to reach or have a hard time reaching. You want the most important elements, like CTAs and the search button, to be in the easy-to-reach zone.

Opt for responsive themes

Various platforms that you can use come with a countless number of themes. However, when picking a theme, you need to find one that is responsive. You want a layout that matches your business's dynamic but also something that is fast and flexible as well as SEO-optimized.

What is more, it's imperative that the theme you pick is not over-stuffed as you want the visitors to navigate through it without any major issues and distractions.

Avoid sliders and carousels

Although sliders and carousels have been popular lately in web design as they can make pages more dynamic, they are not a great choice for mobile-first websites. For one, visitors might only see one of them, which can be problematic if those that appear later on contain CTA buttons. People prefer to skim and scan websites so make sure to have everything on the page instead of separating it into tabs.

Remember to test it

No matter how much effort you put into the website, you don't want to let it go live without testing it first. So, get off your desktop and try to load the website on a mobile device. Does it load quickly? Is it difficult to navigate? Is it too tiny to read? If it was someone else's, what would you resent and what would make you leave? Correct these before you have real visitors.

If you don't already have a website, it's time to make one for your business. When designing it, make sure you opt for a mobile-first approach.

Samuel Daniel

Update 05 December 2021